2025, Volume 18, Issue 4, pp 270 – 276

Optimizing outcomes of partial nephrectomy in patients with tumors in solitary kidneys: a non-systematic review

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Issues

Special Issues

Authors and Affiliations

Corresponding author Nicolae Bacalbasa, Department of Surgery, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania; Department of Visceral Surgery, Center of Excellence in Translational Medicine, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania; Department of Visceral Surgery, Center of Digestive Diseases and Liver Transplantation, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania. E-mail: nicolaebacalbasa@gmail.com

Abstract

This review consolidates recent evidence on managing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in patients with solitary kidneys. It provides a comprehensive discussion of evolving strategies in partial nephrectomy—including open, laparoscopic, and particularly robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN)—along with thermal and advanced ablative therapies, non-surgical options (such as stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy [SABR] and active surveillance [AS]), and emerging neoadjuvant systemic treatments with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). In addition, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for preoperative planning, intraoperative guidance, and postoperative outcome prediction is discussed. Given the limited renal reserve in these patients, preserving functional renal parenchyma is paramount. This multidisciplinary review synthesizes evidence from 2018 to the present and is supported by 70 contemporary references.

Keywords

About this article

PMC ID: 12094310
PubMed ID: 
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2025-0066

Article Publishing Date (print): 4 2025
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Issues

Special Issues