Vascular mimicry may be a prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) after radical nephrectomy, according to a Chinese population study published in The Journal of Urology.1
Researchers led by Lin Zhou, PhD, of Fudan University in Shanghai conducted a retrospective cohort study of 387 patients with ccRCC who had undergone radical nephrectomy at the university between 2008 and 2009. They recorded pathologic features, baseline patient characteristics, and follow-up data for all patients.
Vascular mimicry in ccRCC tissue was identified through CD31-PAS double staining, and univariate and multivariable Cox regression models were used to analyze the impact of prognostic factors on RFS.
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They found that positive vascular mimicry staining occurred in 6.5% of all observed ccRCC cases, and it was associated with an increased risk of recurrence. In addition, vascular mimicry was identified as an independent prognostic factor.
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“Further external validation and functional analysis should be pursued to assess its potential prognostic and therapeutic values for ccRCC patients,” the authors concluded.
Reference
- Zhou L, Chang Y, Xu L, et al. The presence of vascular mimicry predicts high recurrence risk of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma after radical nephrectomy [published online ahead of print March 10, 2016]. J Urol. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2016.02.2971.
