Laparoendoscopic single-site radical nephrectomy for localized renal cancer: a descriptive research study with at least a 10-year follow-up

BACKGROUND: Laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgery is performed to further narrow the incisions and reduce tissue injury. It has been more than10 years since the surgery was first described. However, there is still no report on the results of 10-year follow-up. This study evaluated the use of long-term oncology and the renal outcomes of LESS radical nephrectomy (LESS-RN) in the treatment of localized renal cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients treated with LESS-RN at Changhai Hospital from 2009 to 2012. Patients with localized kidney cancer who were followed-up for at least 10 years were included in the study. The baseline data and major perioperative outcome variables were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients were included in the study, which had a median follow-up of 11 years (interquartile range, 10.7–11.8 years). The 10-year OS and CSS rates were 87.5% [42/48; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.778–0.972] and 97.9% (47/48; 95% CI: 0.937–1.021), respectively. At the most recent follow-up, there were 5 patients with a chronic kidney disease stage ≥3. Among these 5 patients, 3 developed uremia and required continuous dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: For localized renal cancer, LESS-RN is safe and effective with excellent long-term oncology controllability and good functional outcomes. Prospective studies with large sample sizes need to be conducted to validate our results.