Late Kidney Effects of Nephron-Sparing vs Radical Nephrectomy for Wilms Tumor: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

We compare differences in long-term kidney function between patients undergoing either radical nephrectomy (RN) or nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) in unilateral and bilateral Wilms tumor (WT), respectively.

A systematic search was performed in September 2020. Comparative studies were evaluated according to Cochrane collaboration recommendations. Assessed long-term (>1-year postoperative) outcomes included chronic kidney disease, hypertension and glomerular filtration rate, among others. Odds ratio and mean difference with 95% confidence interval were extrapolated from available data for quantitative synthesis. Random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed according to study design and techniques. The systematic review was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020205378).

A total of 23 studies describing 293 cases of unilateral WT and 386 cases of bilateral WT were included in the qualitative synthesis. Overall effect estimates demonstrate that patients undergoing RN have significantly increased odds of developing abnormal kidney function (OR 4.29, 95% CI 1.02, 18.00) and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate at long-term followup (mean difference -8.99, 95% CI -16.40, -1.58) compared to those undergoing NSS. In bilateral WT, patients undergoing RN with contralateral NSS have higher odds of developing abnormal kidney function (OR 3.82, 95% CI 1.76, 8.33) and hypertension (OR 5.81, 95% CI 1.31, 25.68) compared to bilateral NSS.

Current evidence is low quality but suggests that NSS for unilateral and bilateral WT may be associated with better kidney function or blood pressure at late followup. Further research to investigate sources of heterogeneity is recommended.