10-Year Oncologic Outcomes After Laparoscopic and Open Partial Nephrectomy

Purpose: Open partial nephrectomy has proven long-term oncologic efficacy. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy outcomes at 5 to 7 years of followup appear comparable to those of the open approach. We present the 10-year outcomes of patients who underwent laparoscopic or open partial nephrectomy for a single clinical stage cT1 7 cm or less renal cortical tumor. Materials and Methods: Of 1,541 patients treated with partial nephrectomy for a single cT1 tumor between 1999 and 2007 with a minimum 5-year followup, an actual followup of 10 years or greater was available in 45 and 254 after laparoscopic and open partial nephrectomy, respectively. Results: Median followup after laparoscopic and open surgery was 6.6 and 7.8 years, respectively. At 10 years the overall survival rate was 77.2%. The metastasis-free survival rate was 95.2% and 90.0% after partial nephrectomy for clinical T1a and T1b renal cell carcinoma, respectively (p < 0.0001). Baseline differences between patients treated with laparoscopic and open partial nephrectomy accounted for most observed differences between the cohorts. The median glomerular filtration rate decrease was 16.9% after the laparoscopic approach and 14.1% after the open approach (p = 0.5). On multivariable analysis predictors of all cause mortality included advancing age (HR 1.52/10 years, p < 0.0001), comorbidity (HR 1.33/1 U, p < 0.0001), absolute indication (HR 2.25, p = 0.003) and predicted recurrence-free survival (HR 1.58/10% increased risk, p = 0.004) but not laparoscopic vs open operative approach (p = 0.13). Similarly, predictors of metastasis included absolute indication (HR 4.35, p < 0.0001) and predicted recurrence-free survival (HR 2.67, p < 0.0001) but not operative approach (p = 0.42). Conclusions: The 10-year outcomes of laparoscopic nephrectomy and open partial nephrectomy are excellent in carefully selected patients with limited risk of recurrence for cT1 renal cortical tumors. Overall survival at 10 years is mediated by patient factors such as age, comorbidity and operative indication, and by cancer factors such as predicted recurrence-free survival but not by the choice of operative technique, which depends on surgeon preference and experience.