Systematic review and meta-analysis compares survival outcomes of nephrectomy techniques in patients with renal cell carcinoma, suggesting significant implications for surgical choices.
Key Points
To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of partial nephrectomy versus radical nephrectomy in renal cell carcinoma patients.
Systematic review of studies comparing RN and PN for RCC published till January 2026.
Pooled binary outcomes using the Mantel-Haenszel Random Effects model; continuous outcomes assessed with mean differences.
Included 45 studies with 79,417 patients undergoing either surgical approach.
PN significantly reduced all-cause mortality (OR = 0.63; 95% CI: [0.41, 0.96]; p < 0.0001) and cancer-specific mortality (OR = 0.45; 95% CI: [0.25, 0.81]; p < 0.0001).
PN improved overall survival (OR = 1.46; 95% CI: [1.14, 1.88]; p < 0.0001) compared to RN.
RN was associated with fewer postoperative complications (OR = 1.29; 95% CI: [1.08, 1.54]; p < 0.0001) and shorter operation time (MD = 14.15; 95% CI: [4.50, 23.81]; p < 0.0001).