Hepatic Dysfunction in Renal Carcinoma

Summary— In a retrospective review of 81 patients with renal carcinoma 34 (42%) had abnormalities of one or more liver function tests. Fifteen patients (1 8.5%) had abnormalities of 3 or more liver function tests but without evidence of hepatic metastases. There was a significant association between these patients and the presence of fever, anemia, weight loss and a raised ESR (P<0.001) compared with those whose liver function was normal. Following nephrectomy, liver function returned to normal in 5 patients. Median survival in these patients was 35 months, whilst in those whose liver function remained abnormal the median survival was 8 months (P<0.01).