Background: Angiotensin 2 is a key biologic peptide in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) that regulates blood pressure and renal hemodynamics. The potential role of the RAS in the promotion of tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis also has been shown in the past few decades. This study investigated the prognostic impact of RAS blockade on patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after surgery.
Methods: The study identified 557 patients with pathologically diagnosed RCC (pT1-4 N0M0) and evaluated the prognostic factors after surgery for patients administered or not administered angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEs) or angiotensin 2 receptor blockers (ARBs).
Results: The median follow-up period was 5.1 years. Radical nephrectomy was performed for 349 patients (62.7 %), whereas the remaining 208 patients (37.3 %) underwent partial nephrectomy. A total of 104 patients (18.7 %) were administered RAS inhibitors: ACEs (n = 22) or ARBs (n = 82). Multivariate analysis showed that administration of RAS inhibitors (P = 0.044; HR 2.69), longer tumor length (P < 0.001; HR 1.02), high-grade tumor (P < 0.001; HR 3.55), and positive microvascular invasion (P < 0.003; HR 3.13) were not independent risk factors for a decrease in subsequent disease-specific survival after surgery for RCC. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate was 96.8 % among the patients administered RAS inhibitors and 89.8 % among their counterparts (P = 0.019).
Conclusions: The authors propose renin-angiotensin blockade as a possible potent choice for effective treatment after surgical treatment of RCC.