As featured recently in the Cancer Therapy Advisor, a study has been conducted on patients diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), who also have elevated inflammation, and sarcopenia. The study, conducted between January 2001 and December 2014, followed 158 participants who had undergone the removal of a kidney and tumor or tumors. The operation is known as cytoreductive nephrectomy.

At a median follow-up of 16 months, 99 patients had died.

Although sarcopenia, a muscle-wasting condition, is a result of natural aging, it can have impacts on quality of life. Patients with mRCC who had elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio exhibited the worst survival after the operation. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cells and the first line of defense in the immune system.

The median age of patients was 61.9. Most of the participants were men. Forty-eight percent had sarcopenia.

About Metastasized Renal Cell Carcinoma

The most common form of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma with one or more tumors. Symptoms may not appear until tumors begin to spread. When the disease spreads to other body parts it is known as metastatic renal cell carcinoma, or stage 4 kidney cancer.

Removal of the entire kidney (radical nephrectomy) is still possible for some patients during stage 4. Tumors that have spread can also be removed surgically from other organs.

Approximately one-third of RCC patients already have metastasis before seeing a doctor. Although the disease is challenging, there are treatment options, such as immunotherapy and radiation.

In Conclusion

Sarcopenia and elevated inflammation are related to worsened overall survival after a patient has undergone cytoreductive nephrectomy. The researchers determined that sarcopenia can be used as a measurement of nutrition and can be of assistance in making decisions for the treatment of mRCC.