Munich, Germany (UroToday.com) In today’s 2016 EAU kidney cancer poster (Renal tumours: All about imaging) session, Dr. Fiori and associates presented their work on scintigraphy to identify the impact of T1 tumors on renal function.
While multiple studies have examined the impact of partial nephrectomy on renal functional outcomes, there is a paucity of data that aims to separate the effect of surgery from the effect of the tumor itself. The investigators studied 171 patients who underwent MAG-3 renal scan followed by partial nephrectomy over 3 years. They found that mean tumor size was 3.73cm, including 71 patients who had tumors larger than 4cm. 58% of patients had mostly endophytic lesions. Comparing the affected side vs the normal kidney, there was no difference in mean split renal function (49.7 vs 50.3%) or effective renal plasma flow (171.9 vs 174.7). Similarly, there was no difference in these parameters in the stratified subgroups of <4 vs >4cm or exo- vs endophytic lesions.
The authors concluded that kidney tumors have no impact on kidney function for lesions < 7cm in size. Both kidneys continue to contribute equally to global renal function despite the presence of a unilateral tumor, and regardless of growth pattern.
By: Fiori C., Bertolo R., Amparore D., De Cillis S., Cattaneo G., Checcucci E., Manfredi M., Mele F., Ottaviano G., Aimar R., Porpiglia F.
Reported By: Nikhil Waingankar, MD, at the 31st Annual EAU Congress - March 12 - 15, 2016 – Munich, Germany Fox Chase Cancer Center