Surgery of non-spinal skeletal metastases in renal cell carcinoma

Background and purpose — Surgery for metastases of renal cell carcinoma has increased in the last decade. It carries a risk of massive blood loss, as tumors are hypervascular and the surgery is often extensive. Preoperative embolization is believed to facili- tate surgery. We evaluated the effect of preoperative emboliza- tion and resection margin on intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and survival in non-spinal skeletal metastases of renal cell carcinoma. Patients and methods — This retrospective study involved 144 patients, 56 of which were treated preoperatively with emboliza- tion. The primary outcome was intraoperative blood loss. We also identified factors affecting operating time and survival. Results — We did not find statistically significant effects on intraoperative blood loss of preoperative embolization of skeletal non-spinal metastases. Pelvic localization and large tumor size increased intraoperative blood loss. Marginal resection compared to intralesional resection, nephrectomy, level of hemoglobin, and solitary metastases were associated with better survival. Interpretation — Tumor size, but not embolization, was an independent factor for intraoperative blood loss. Marginal resection rather than intralesional resection should be the gold standard treatment for skeletal metastases in non-spinal renal cell carcinoma, especially in the case of a solitary lesion, as this improved the overall survival.