Clinicopathological Analysis of Succinate Dehydrogenase-Deficient Renal Cell Carcinoma

Authors

  • ShiZhi Hu Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 230601, Hefei, China
  • RuLing Zhang Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 230601, Hefei, China
  • Shujun Li Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 230601, Hefei, China
  • Jing Ma Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, 230032 Hefei, China
  • Heqin Zhan Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, 230601, Hefei, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71321/3zc3th83

Keywords:

Succinate dehydrogenase-deficient renal cell carcinoma, Histology, Immunohistochemistry, Diagnosis, Prognosis

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, immunophenotype, key diagnostic points and prognosis of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)-deficient renal cell carcinoma in order to provide a reference for its clinical diagnosis, treatment and pathological diagnosis.

Materials and Methods: The retrospective analysis was performed on 14 cases of SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma, with a summary and evaluation of their clinicopathological, morphological, immunohistochemical features and prognosis.

Results: Among the 14 patients, 10 were male and 4 were female. The age ranged from 43 to 78 years, with a median age of 52 years. 9 tumors were located in the left kidney and 5 in the right kidney. Tumor size ranged from 1.5 cm to 8.0 cm. Microscopically, the tumor cells exhibited diverse architectural patterns, including predominantly solid and nested growth, occasional microcystic and cystiic dilatation, and papillary architecture. The tumor cells had abundant cytoplasm, which was vacuolated or weakly eosinophilic. Immunohistochemical results showed that all 14 tumor cells were positive for vimentin and PAX-8, and negative for SDHB, CK7, CD117, and CA IX. The Ki-67 proliferation index ranged from 5% to 20%. Among the 14 patients, 1 was lost to follow-up, and 13 were followed up. Of the 13 followed patients, 12 were alive and 1 died.

Conclusion: SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma is a relatively rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma. Patients with low nuclear grade are generally younger, whereas those with high nuclear grade are mostly middle-aged or elderly and prone to metastasis. Loss of SDHB expression by immunohistochemical staining is helpful for the diagnosis of this type of tumor.

References

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Type

Research Article

Published

2026-05-30

Data Availability Statement

The data used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Issue

Section

Precision Medicine Informatics

How to Cite

Hu, S., Zhang , R., Li, S., Ma, J., & Zhan, H. (2026). Clinicopathological Analysis of Succinate Dehydrogenase-Deficient Renal Cell Carcinoma. Life Conflux, 2(3), e388. https://doi.org/10.71321/3zc3th83

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