Purpose: The majority of cytogenetic studies in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been impaired by small sample size, retrospective character, and lack of a survival end point. We prospectively studied the prognostic impact of cytogenetic abnormalities on a larger cohort of patients having up to 108 months of follow-up.

Patients and Methods: Tumors of 282 patients who underwent nephrectomy for clear cell RCC were cytogenetically analyzed. Results were correlated with pathological factors and disease-specific survival.

Results: The most frequently observed cytogenetic abnormalities were loss of 3p (60%), gain of 5q (33%), loss of 14q (28%), trisomy 7 (26%), loss of 8p (20%), loss of 6q (17%), loss of 9p (16%), loss of 4p (13%), and loss of chromosome Y in men (55%). Tumors with loss of 3p presented at lower TNM stages. Loss of 4p, 9p, and 14q were all associated with higher TNM stages, higher grade, and greater tumor size. A deletion of 3p was associated with better prognosis (P = .03), while loss of 4p (P < .001), loss of 9p (P < .01), and loss of 14q (P < .01) were each associated with worse prognosis. Loss of the Y chromosome led to improved progression-free survival in metastatic patients (P = .02). In multivariate analysis, loss of 9p was retained as an independent prognostic factor.

Conclusion: This cytogenetic study serves as a proof of principal that genetic information, such as loss of chromosome 9, can be obtained from widely available technology, and can provide additional prognostic information to standard clinicopathologic variables.