With the addition of active surveillance and thermal ablation (TA) to the urologist's established repertoire of partial (PN) and radical nephrectomy (RN) as first-line management options for localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC), appropriate treatment decision-making has become increasingly nuanced.
To critically review the treatment options for localized, nonrecurrent RCC; to highlight the patient, renal function, tumor, and provider factors that influence treatment decisions; and to provide a framework to conceptualize that decision-making process.
A collaborative critical review of the medical literature was conducted.
We identify three key decision points when managing localized RCC: (1) decision for surveillance versus treatment, (2) decision regarding treatment modality (TA, PN, or RN), and (3) decision on surgical approach (open vs minimally invasive). In evaluating factors that influence these treatment decisions, we elaborate on patient, renal function, tumor, and provider factors that either directly or indirectly impact each decision point. As current nomograms, based on preselected patient datasets, perform poorly in prospective settings, these tools should be used with caution. Patient decision aids are an underutilized tool in decision-making.
Localized RCC requires highly nuanced treatment decision-making, balancing patient- and tumor-specific clinical variables against indirect structural influences to provide optimal patient care.
With expanding treatment options for localized kidney cancer, treatment decision is highly nuanced and requires shared decision-making. Patient decision aids may be helpful in the treatment discussion.
European urology. 2021 Feb 05 [Epub ahead of print]
Thenappan Chandrasekar, Stephen A Boorjian, Umberto Capitanio, Boris Gershman, Maria Carmen Mir, Alexander Kutikov
Department of Urology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, NY, USA., Unit of Urology, Division of Experimental Oncology, Urological Research Institute (URI), IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy., Division of Urologic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA., Department of Urology, Fundación Instituto Valenciano Oncologia, Valencia, Spain., Division of Urologic Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.