Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Ten-Year Review in a Tertiary Institution in the Niger Delta.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an insidious neoplasm, accounting for approximately 2% of global cancer diagnoses and deaths, and is projected to increase in burden worldwide. Studies on renal malignancies in Port Harcourt are few and where present have focused on the pathology or the paediatric population. This study is on the presentation, risk factors and management of RCC in an adult population. Materials and Methods: This is a ten-year retrospective study conducted at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Ethical approval for the study was sought and obtained from the hospital’s ethical committee. The information gotten included symptoms, number of cases per year, the side affected, stage of disease, risk factors, treatment received, prognosis, neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment. The data were collected and evaluated. Frequencies, percentages, the mean and standard deviation were used to summarize the data as appropriate. Results: The hospital incidence of RCC is 98/100,000 at UPTH. The disease was more common from the third to the fifth decade and commoner in females and on the left kidney.  The disease has increased in incidence over the years.  Haematuria was the most common symptom and radical nephrectomy was the most common form of treatment.  Most patients presented with advanced disease and this affected prognosis. Conclusion: RCC is rare but its incidence is increasing in Port Harcourt. Many patients presented with an advanced disease which led to poor prognosis. Open radical prostatectomy was the most common form of treatment.