Postoperative complications increase the risk of long-term chronic kidney disease after nephron-sparing surgery in patients with renal cancer and normal preoperative renal function

Renal Oncocytoma: The Diagnostic Challenge to Unmask the Double of Renal Cancer

Renal oncocytoma represents the most common type of benign neoplasm that is an increasing concern for urologists, oncologists, and nephrologists due to its difficult differential diagnosis and frequent overtreatment. It displays a variable neoplastic parenchymal and stromal architecture, and the defining cellular element is a large polygonal, granular, eosinophilic, mitochondria-rich cell known as an oncocyte. The real challenge in the oncocytoma treatment algorithm is related to the misdiagnosis due to its resemblance, at an initial radiological assessment, to malignant renal cancers with a completely different prognosis and medical treatment. Unfortunately, percutaneous renal biopsy is not frequently performed due to the possible side effects related to the procedure. Therefore, the majority of oncocytoma are diagnosed after the surgical operation via partial or radical nephrectomy. For this reason, new reliable strategies to solve this issue are needed. In our review, we will discuss the clinical implications of renal oncocytoma in daily clinical practice with a particular focus on the medical diagnosis and treatment and on the potential of novel promising molecular biomarkers such as circulating microRNAs to distinguish between a benign and a malignant lesion.

The Role of Circulating Biomarkers in the Oncological Management of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Where Do We Stand Now?

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an increasingly common malignancy that can progress to metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in approximately one-third of RCC patients. The 5-year survival rate for mRCC is abysmally low, and, at the present time, there are sparingly few if any effective treatments. Current surgical and pharmacological treatments can have a long-lasting impact on renal function, as well. Thus, there is a compelling unmet need to discover novel biomarkers and surveillance methods to improve patient outcomes with more targeted therapies earlier in the course of the disease. Circulating biomarkers, such as circulating tumor DNA, noncoding RNA, proteins, extracellular vesicles, or cancer cells themselves potentially represent a minimally invasive tool to fill this gap and accelerate both diagnosis and treatment. Here, we discuss the clinical relevance of different circulating biomarkers in metastatic renal cell carcinoma by clarifying their potential role as novel biomarkers of response or resistance to treatments but also by guiding clinicians in novel therapeutic approaches.

Cause-Specific Mortality Among Survivors From T1N0M0 Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Registry-Based Cohort Study

Objective

More T1N0M0 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is detected and the prognosis has improved, but, the current focus on non-RCC-related mortality is superficial. We investigated cause-specific mortality and its temporal patterns after an RCC diagnosis.

Methods

In the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-18 database, patients with T1N0M0 RCC treated with partial nephrectomy (PN) or radical nephrectomy (RN) during 2000-15 were identified. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for cause of death were calculated. Risk predictors for each cause-specific mortality were investigated using the Fine and Gray sub-distribution model.

Results

In all, 68,612 eligible patients were pooled. A total of 14,047 (20.5%) patients had died (cardiovascular disease [CVD], 28.3%; other non-cancer-related diseases, 20.3%; RCC, 18.7%; other cancer types, 16.3%; non-disease events, 16.1%) during follow-up. Heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and cerebrovascular disease were the primary causes of non-RCC-related mortality within 1 year after the diagnosis. The greatest proportion of death (39.0%) occurred within 1-5 years after the diagnosis, mostly due to RCC itself, followed by heart disease. However, >5 years after the diagnosis, heart disease became the leading cause of death. Compared with the general US population, a 21% (SMR, 1.21; 95%CI 1.19-1.23) increased risk of all-mortality was observed; RCC patients had a higher risk of heart disease-related death within 5-10 years (SMR, 1.10; 95%CI 1.04-1.17) and >10 years (1.12; 1.02-1.22) after the diagnosis. Older age and RN increased the death risk of CVD and RCC-specific mortality. Although a larger tumor diameter increased the risk of RCC-specific death, this was not a significant predictor for CVD. Moreover, for T1N0M0 RCC tumors of diameter >4 cm, there was no significant difference in CVD incidence for RN vs. PN.

Conclusions

RCC-specific mortality is a common challenge for the prognosis. Importantly, a large proportion and higher SMRs of other non-RCC-related diseases (especially CVD) should not be disregarded for the better holistic management of survivors of local RCC. Targeted prevention strategies for non-RCC-related death could lead to significant reductions in mortality for RCC survivors.