Partial Nephrectomy is the Surgical Treatment of Choice for (Most) Complex Localized Renal Tumors

The decision to undergo partial nephrectomy (PN) versus radical nephrectomy (RN) for a localized renal mass should take various factors into consideration, including tumor characteristics, patient’s health status and preference, and risks and benefits of these each approach. PN represents a suitable surgical approach for small renal tumors in favorable locations. It may also better preserve long-term renal function, particularly in patients who may need surgery for a contralateral kidney mass or have pre-existing chronic kidney disease. Conversely, RN may be preferred in elderly patients with severe (non-renal related) comorbidities, in patients with an anatomically challenging tumor location, or for larger or locally advanced masses.

Diagnostic Imaging for Solid Renal Tumors: A Pictorial Review

The prognosis of renal tumors depends on histologic subtype. The increased use of abdominal imaging has resulted in an increase in the number of small renal incidentaloma in recent decades. Of these incidentally discovered tumors, 20% are benign lesions warranting conservative management, but most are renal cell carcinomas that warrant a more aggressive therapeutic approach due to their malignant potential. Dedicated diagnostic renal imaging is important for characterization of renal tumors to facilitate treatment planning. This review discusses the ability to detect and differentiate renal cell carcinoma subtypes, angiomyolipoma and oncocytoma based on ultrasound imaging, computed tomography, multiparametric magnetic resonance, 

Reconciling the Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Targeted Therapies in Adjuvant Renal Cell Carcinoma Treatment

Up to 40% of patients with high risk, localized RCC will relapse after nephrectomy and are at risk of eventually succumbing to the disease. Historically, phase 3 clinical trials failed to demonstrate meaningful benefit of adjuvant therapy in RCC, likely because these early trials used treatments that did not demonstrate meaningful clinical efficacy in mRCC. However, the clear clinical activity demonstrated by VEGF-TKIs in mRCC patients renewed the promise of adjuvant therapy. ASSURE, S-TRAC, and PROTECT are the first three trials to examine the clinical efficacy of 1 year of adjuvant VEGF-TKI therapy in patients with high-risk RCC following nephrectomy. 

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy is a Well-Tolerated and Effective Treatment for the Long-Term Control of Intra-Abdominal and Retroperitoneal Oligometastatic Renal Cell Cancer

Background: The use of conventionally fractionated intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in the management of oligometastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is currently poorly characterised in the literature. Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of IMRT for intraabdominal and retroperitoneal RCC oligometastases. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 14 patients with oligometastatic RCC treated with IMRT with the aim of inducing long-term control. Indications for radiotherapy included bleeding abdominal mass (5 patients), solitary renal bed recurrence (5 patients) and isolated, asymptomatic pancreatic mass (4 patients). The prescribed radiotherapy dose was 50 Gray in 20 to 25 fractions. Patients were 

Optimal First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma: A Network Meta-Analysis

Background: First-line treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has incrementally evolved over the past decade. Most recently, promising clinical trials for first-line cabozantinib, nivolumab plus ipilimumab, and bevacizumab plus atezolizumab were reported. However, the comparator arm in all of these trials was sunitinib, so no head-to-head comparison exists for contemporary first-line treatments. Objective: To provide an indirect comparison of first-line treatments for mRCC that are currently approved or likely soon to be approved. Methods: Pivotal phase 2/3 clinical trials comparing currently approved first-line agents and novel regimens of nivolumab plus ipilimumab and bevacizumab plus atezolizumab 

What Survival Benefits are Needed to Make Adjuvant Sorafenib Worthwhile After Resection of Intermediate- or High-Risk Renal Cell Carcinoma? Clinical Investigators’ Preferences in the SORCE Trial

Background: Decisions about adjuvant therapy involve trade-offs between possible benefits and harms. Objective: We sought to determine the survival benefits that clinical investigators would judge as sufficient to warrant treatment with adjuvant sorafenib in the SORCE trial after nephrectomy for apparently localised renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods: A subset of clinical investigators in the SORCE trial completed a validated questionnaire that elicited the minimum survival benefits they judged sufficient to warrant one year of adjuvant sorafenib in scenarios with hypothetical baseline survival times of 5 years and 15 years, and baseline survival rates at 5 years 

Positive Surgical Margins After Partial Nephrectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies

Objective: We performed an update of previous reviews of the literature to provide an overview on incidence, predictive factors, management and prognosis of positive surgical margins (PSMs) after partial nephrectomy (PN) including recent surgical series and studies comparing different approaches and techniques. Material and methods: A literature search was performed from January 2013 to January 2018 using the Medline database. The search strategy included a free-text protocol using the term “nephron-sparing surgery” OR “partial nephrectomy” AND “positive surgical margins” across the title and abstract fields of the records. From each selected study, we extracted the following data: number 

Nutritional Predictors of Perioperative Complications and Mortality Following Nephrectomy for Renal Malignancies: A Population-Based Analysis

Introduction and Objective: Conflicting data exists regarding the impact of body mass index (BMI) on postoperative outcomes following surgery for renal malignancies (RM). Herein, we investigated associations between obesity, hypoalbuminemia, and/or significant weight loss in the preoperative period, and risk complications and mortality within 30 days of radical (RN) or partial nephrectomy (PN). Materials and Methods: Review of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database identified 8,618 patients treated with PN or RN for RM between 2005 and 2012. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were developed to assess associations between hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 g/dl), >10% 

Clinical Trials Corner

A Phase III, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Pembrolizumab (MK-3475) as Monotherapy in the Adjuvant Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma Post Nephrectomy (KEYNOTE-564)

While strides have been made in the treatment of metastatic RCC, there remains no standard adjuvant systemic therapy that has demonstrated an overall survival benefit in the non-metastatic setting. Most patients with intermediate- to high-risk advanced RCC will progress within 3 years following nephrectomy. Pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, has demonstrated benefit in treating metastatic RCC. It is thought that there may be benefit to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy after resection of localized disease, the hypothesis being that such therapy may allow for eradication of micrometastatic disease and thus translate to improvements in disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS).

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