Lymph node dissection for renal cell carcinoma – the value of operation and adjuvant therapy

Purpose: Management of organ-confined RCC is primarily surgical. 5-year survival rates of all stages improved from 40 % in the 1950th to 50 % in the 60th, and stagnate at 60 % in recent series. Paramount use of ultrasound in modern medicine has been claimed to contribute significantly to an earlier detection of RCC thus better amenable for radical operation. Other factors may have been strategies and general hospital care. However, it remains unclear whether an extended lymph node dissection as suggested vy Robson in a seminal paper in the 1960th bears any therapeutic value.