title: Potentially curable recurrent disease after surgically managed non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma in low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Guidelines recommend risk-adapted follow-up (FU) strategies after (partial) nephrectomy in non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Since current systemic therapy does not cure metastatic RCC, only timely detected recurrence accessible for local therapy is potentially curable. This study analyzed the rate and management of potentially curable recurrences per risk group.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective study including non-metastatic RCC patients who underwent (partial) nephrectomy from 2004 to 2011, with a minimum follow-up of 4 years. Risk stratification was by Leibovich score (clear cell subtype) and UICC/AJCC grading (other subtypes). Recurrence, time to recurrence, symptoms and detection method were documented. Isolated local recurrence, solitary- and oligometastases (≤3 lesions, single site) were considered potentially curable.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 234 patients, followed during a median of 61.9 months, 68 patients (29.1 %) developed a recurrence of which 28 (41.2 %) were considered potentially curable. The 5-year risk of recurrence for low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients was 7.8, 26.3 and 59.1 % of which 71.4, 52.2 and 23.1 % were considered potentially curable, respectively. In high-risk patients, incurable recurrence was detected after a median of 7.9 (3.7-17.2) months versus 13.9 (6-41.3) months for potentially curable lesions. Only 13 of potentially curable lesions (46 %) received local therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FU protocols should be adapted to the recurrence pattern of potentially curable disease. Most of the benefit may be achieved in intermediate-risk and high-risk-patients free of recurrence 1 year after surgery. Despite frequent imaging, only 13 patients (5.6 % of all patients followed) were managed with local therapy of whom only 4 remained free of disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Oncologic Urology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Y A M
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Kuijpers
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Oncologic Urology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Jonges
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncologic Urology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J L H R
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bosch
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horenblas
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a.bex@nki.nl.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bex
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D009392:Nephrectomy; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: Follow-up; Metastasectomy; Nephrectomy; Renal cell carcinoma