Dr. Huang Compares Surveillance and Treatment in Kidney Cancer

William C. Huang, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Urology at New York University Langone Medical Center, discusses findings from a SEER database analysis that compared surveillance to surgical resection in elderly patients with small renal masses.

Huang notes that a majority of small kidney tumors (<4 cm) are incidental findings, which may not pose a threat to patients. For these patients, surveillance may be a reasonable alternative to treatment, since cardiovascular issues are common following surgical resection.

In the population-based study, 8317 patients were examined who were treated with surgery (78%) and surveillance (22%).  The risk of dying due to kidney cancer was not significantly different between the two arms, Huang explains. Moreover, surveillance was associated with a much lower risk of developing a cardiovascular event compared to surgery (HR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.44 — 0.60; P > .00001).

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