[The use of partial nephrectomy in the treatment of patients with pT1/pT2 renal cell carcinoma: a trend analysis from a tertiary referral centre].

INTRODUCTION:  In patients with localised renal cell carcinoma, the only curative treatment option is surgical tumour excision. Current national and European guidelines recommend partial nephrectomy in the form of an open or minimally-invasive procedure in case of small tumours. The aim of this study was to examine the use of radical (RN) or partial (PN) nephrectomy performed as open or minimally-invasive procedures in patients with pT1 /pT2 renal cell carcinoma at a tertiary referral centre.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:  This retrospective study included a total of 758 patients with localised renal cell carcinoma (pT1/pT2), who underwent PN or RN between 01/2008 and 10/2014. Nephrectomy was either performed as an open (OPN, ORN), laparoscopic (LPN, LRN) or robot-assisted laparoscopic (RAPN) procedure.

RESULTS:  Out of 758 patients, 439 (57.9 %) underwent PN performed as an LPN in n = 254 (57.9 %) and OPN in n = 185 (42.1 %). 319 patients (42.1 %) underwent RN performed as an LRN in n = 250 (78.4 %) and ORN in n = 69 (21.6 %). Between 2008 and 2014, there was a trend towards the use of PN, especially in patients with pT1a and pT1b. The majority of patients with pT2 underwent RN, performed as an LRN in 40 - 53.9 %.

DISCUSSION:  The results of this trend analysis from a tertiary referral centre demonstrate an increased use of PN and minimally-invasive procedures over time, as recommend by national and European guidelines.