Differential efficacy of ablation therapy versus partial nephrectomy between clinical T1a and T1b renal tumors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

To assess the differential clinical outcomes of patients treated with partial nephrectomy (PN) vs. those treated with ablation therapy (AT) such as radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation and microwave ablation for cT1b compared to cT1a renal tumors.

Multiple databases were searched for articles published before August 2021. Studies were deemed eligible if they compared clinical outcomes in patients who underwent PN with those who underwent AT for cT1a and/or cT1b renal tumors.

Overall, 27 studies comprising 13,996 patients were eligible for this meta-analysis. In both cT1a and cT1b renal tumors, there was no significant difference in the percent decline of estimated glomerular filtration rates or in the overall/severe complication rates between PN and AT. Compared to AT, PN was associated with a lower risk of local recurrence in both patients with cT1a and cT1b tumors (cT1a: pooled risk ratio [RR]; 0.43, 95% confidence intervals [CI]; 0.28-0.66, cT1b: pooled RR; 0.41, 95%CI; 0.23-0.75). Subgroup analyses regarding the technical approach revealed no statistical difference in local recurrence rates between percutaneous AT and PN in patients with cT1a tumors (pooled RR; 0.61, 95%CI; 0.32-1.15). In cT1b, however, PN was associated with a lower risk of local recurrence (pooled RR; 0.45, 95%CI; 0.23-0.88). There was no difference in distant metastasis or cancer mortality rates between PN and AT in patients with cT1a, or cT1b tumors.

AT has a substantially relevant disadvantage with regards to local recurrence compared to PN, particularly in cT1b renal tumors. Despite the limitations inherent to the nature of retrospective and unmatched primary cohorts, percutaneous AT could be used as a reasonable alternative treatment for well-selected patients with cT1a renal tumors.

Urologic oncology. 2022 May 10 [Epub ahead of print]

Takafumi Yanagisawa, Keiichiro Mori, Tatsushi Kawada, Reza Sari Motlagh, Hadi Mostafaei, Fahad Quhal, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Pawel Rajwa, Abdulmajeed Aydh, Frederik König, Maximilian Pallauf, Benjamin Pradere, Jun Miki, Takahiro Kimura, Shin Egawa, Shahrokh F Shariat

Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Men's Health and Reproductive Health Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Research Center for Evidence Based Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Medical University of Silesia, Zabrze, Poland., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, King Faisal Medical City, Abha, Saudi Arabia., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia; Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: .