Dr. Michael L. Blute on Partial Nephrectomy Rates in RCC

Michael L. Blute, MD, chief, department of urology, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuses the benefit of partial nephrectomy compared to radical nephrectomy in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

A database study looked at 180,000 patients who underwent surgery for localized kidney cancer, and found that the rate of partial nephrectomy increased from 30% to almost 70% from 2003 to 2012. This is encouraging, said Blute.

The study showed that for patients that have stage TIA renal masses, a partial nephrectomy increased overall survival compared to a radical nephrectomy. For patients with stage TIB and stage II cancer of the kidney, the rate of partial nephrectomy more than doubled between 2003-2012 from less than 10% to 23%. The same improvment in overall survival for patients who underwent partial nephrectomy was not seen in this population.

However, for patients that want to preserve renal function, a partial nephrectomy should still be considered.