title: Relationship between age at diagnosis and clinicopathologic features of renal cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the influence of age at diagnosis on tumour characteristics and cancer-specific survival in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on age, tumour characteristics, and survival for 4774 patients from 12 European RCC databases were recorded. Patients were divided into four groups according to age at diagnosis: < or =40, >40 and <60, > or =60 and <80, and > or =80 yr. The following variables were analysed: TNM stage, Fuhrman grade, tumour size, symptoms at diagnosis, ECOG performance status (PS), and cancer-specific survival. The groups were compared for usual clinical and pathologic variables, and cancer-specific survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The four groups accounted for 288 (6%), 1839 (38.5%), 2499 (52.3%), and 148 cases (3.2%), respectively. Differences were found among groups for tumour stage, symptoms at diagnosis, ECOG PS, Fuhrman grade (p<0.001), tumour size, M stage, and histologic subtype (p: 0.02). Patients < or =40 yr were more likely to have papillary or chromophobe RCCs and less likely to have clear-cell RCCs. No significant difference was found among groups for N stage (p: 0.15). The 5-yr cancer-specific survival rates for the four age categories were 85%, 74%, 70%, and 69%, respectively. In multivariate analysis age category remained an independent prognostic parameter (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Renal tumours diagnosed in younger age are characterized by lower tumour stages and grades as well as favourable histologic patterns compared with tumours in older patients. Basic research is required for explaining such a relationship between age, tumour aggressiveness, and therefore tumour biology.
authors.affiliation: Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verhoest
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veillard
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guillé
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De La Taille
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salomon
authors.forename: Clément Claude
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Abbou
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valéri
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lechevallier
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Descotes
authors.forename: Herve
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jacqmin
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tostain
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cindolo
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ficarra
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Artibani
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schips
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zigeuner
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Mulders
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mejean
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Patard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate