Review

Management of Upper Urinary Tract Tumors: Comparative Oncological Evaluation of Radical Nephroureterectomy and Nephron Sparing Endoscopic Treatments

10.4274/uob.430

  • Ali Tekin
  • Alpaslan Yüksel

Received Date: 19.06.2015 Accepted Date: 07.07.2015 Bull Urooncol 2015;14(3):223-227

Upper tract urethelial carcinomas (UTUC) are fatal uroepithelial cancers which are rare but have high risks of recurrence and progression. Despite radical nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision has been accepted as the gold standard treatment, over the last 10 years there has been a growing interest in nephron sparing endoscopic procedures owing to recent advances in endourology. Beside patients with imperative indications such as solitary kidney, renal failure and comorbidities, endoscopic management has been extended to selected low risk patients with elective indications. However because of the rarity of these tumors there are only few retrospective, non-randomized studies with small patient groups in the literature which are insufficient to prove the oncological efficacy of endoscopic management of UTUCs. Herein we aimed to review the available literature data comparing nephron sparing procedures with radical nephroureterectomy regarding outcomes such as recurrence, overall and cancer specific survival.

Keywords: Upper tract urethelial carcinomas, radical nephrectomy, endoscopic procedures, meta-analysis

Full Text (Turkish)