Complications After Metastasectomy for Renal Cell Carcinoma-A Population-based Assessment

Metastasectomy has long been considered a valid treatment option for patients with oligometastatic renal cell carcinoma (oligo-mRCC). However, the literature on complications in this setting is scarce. Our objective was to describe in-hospital complications after metastasectomy in a contemporary cohort of patients with mRCC. Using the National Inpatient Sample database (2000-2011), 45 279 mRCC patients were identified. Of those, 1102 underwent metastasectomies. The metastatic sites were the lungs, bone, liver, lymph nodes, adrenal glands, and brain in, respectively, 52%, 29%, 19%, 14%, 11%, and 3.4% of patients. The overall complication rate was 45.7%. Major complications (Clavien III-V) constituted 27.5%. Resections of hepatic lesions were significantly associated with higher odds of overall complications compared with any other site (odds ratio 2.59, 95% confidence interval 1.84-3.62, p<0.001). While metastasectomy remains a potential treatment option in RCC with oligometastatic disease, the associated complication rates are non-negligible; therefore, careful patient selection is warranted.

PATIENT SUMMARY: We studied outcomes of patients with metastatic kidney cancer treated with metastasectomy. While metastasectomy is a treatment option for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, complications are not insignificant and our results may guide preoperative counseling.