Survival in Patients with Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma is Predicted by HIF-1α Expression

Abstract. Aim: Τo investigate hypoxia inducible factor-1α’s
(HIF-1α) immunohistochemical expression in clear cell renal
cell carcinoma (ccRCC) treated with radical nephrectomy.
Patients and Methods: One hundred and forty-eight patients
were considered from those who underwent radical
nephrectomy between 1983 and 1993. Archived materials
were retrieved from the Institute of Pathological Anatomy for
immunostaining. The features considered on the histological
specimens were tumor stage, grade, as well as cellular and
vascular HIF-1α expression. All considered parameters were
correlated with time to recurrence (TTR) and overall survival
(OS). Results: TTR was significantly longer in patients with
low cellular HIF-1α expression; patients’ survival was
higher in those with low HIF-1α expression. Regarding
vascular HIF-1α expression, the differences were not
statistically significant when considering TTR and OS. On
univariate analysis, age, clinical stage and HIF-1α cellular
expression showed a significant association with OS.
Conclusion: Cellular HIF-1α is an important indicator of
prognosis in patients with ccRCC; high HIF-1α expression
predicts poor survival.