Surgical Complications of Presurgical Systemic Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Locally advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is associated with poor survival outcomes. The integration of presurgical systemic therapy with targeted molecular agents prior to surgical resection of RCC tumors has been utilized to improve on these outcomes. These agents may be associated with an increased risk of perioperative complications due to their action on angiogenesis and cell proliferation.

To examine the evidence for the incidence and severity of perioperative complications following presurgical targeted therapy for locally advanced or metastatic RCC.

We performed a systematic review of retrospective studies, prospective clinical trials, and meta-analyses using key search terms in PubMed and Medline. Studies were screened for eligibility and data were extracted by the authors. A qualitative analysis was performed and the complications for available targeted agents was reported.

Retrospective analyses and small prospective trials indicate varying complication rates and types based on presurgical therapies. While some studies indicate a possible increase in wound-related complications, other studies did not show similar results. Additional unique complications reported include an increase in surgical adhesions. There was not any significant difference in overall or bleeding complications.

Overall, these studies demonstrate an acceptable level of surgical complications that should not discourage the clinician considering presurgical therapy. The results of pending trials looking at presurgical therapies will provide further information.