Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have led to substantial changes in systemic treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). For patients whose metastases respond to upfront ICI therapy, deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) may confer a survival advantage. Further data from ongoing trials are awaited regarding the role of deferred versus immediate CN for mRCC in the ICI era. PATIENT SUMMARY: The first-line treatment currently recommended for kidney cancer that has spread to other sites is immunotherapy. For patients who experience a good response to this treatment, surgical kidney removal to control the primary tumor may have a survival benefit. More evidence from clinical trials is needed to confirm the efficacy of this approach.

Department of Urology Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Urology Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria; Department of Urology Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Okayama Japan

Department of Urology Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria; Department of Urology The Jikei University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan

Department of Urology Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria; Division of Urology Department of Special Surgery The University of Jordan Amman Jordan; Department of Urology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas TX USA; Department of Urology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czechia; Department of Urology Weill Cornell Medical College New York NY USA; Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology Vienna Austria

Department of Urology The Jikei University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan

References provided by Crossref.org

The Evolving Landscape of Cytoreductive Nephrectomy in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Role of lymphadenectomy during primary surgery for kidney cancer