Association of race and margin status among patients undergoing robotic partial nephrectomy for T1 renal cell carcinoma: Results from a population-based cohort

Objective To assess the relationship of race and margin status among patients undergoing robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) for T1 renal tumors from a contemporary population-based cohort. Methods Using the National Cancer Database, we identified patients with localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (clinical T1N0M0) who underwent RPN from 2010 to 2013. The primary outcome was positive surgical margins (PSM). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between race and PSM adjusting for patient clinicopathologic and hospital factors. Results Among 12,515 patients undergoing RPN in our cohort, 8.3% had PSM (n = 1,045). When compared to white patients undergoing RPN for T1 RCC with PSM (7.9%), we observed a higher proportion of PSM among African American (AA) (10.8%; P = 0.005) and Hispanic/Latino patients (8.8%; P = 0.005), respectively. On multivariable analysis, AA patients had higher odds of PSM compared to white patients (odds ratio = 1.40; P = 0.008). Other factors associated with higher odds of PSM were treatment at nonacademic centers relative to academic centers (10.4% vs. 6.9%; odds ratio = 1.57; P<0.001). Conclusions In this contemporary population-based cohort, AA patients undergoing RPN for localized RCC tumors are at higher risk for PSM. These results suggest potential differences in quality of care and patient selection of RPN by race.