Narrative review of nephron-sparing surgical management of upper tract urothelial carcinoma: is there a role for distal ureterectomy, segmental ureterectomy, and partial nephrectomy

Abstract

Background and Objective Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a relatively rare malignancy and radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) with bladder cuff excision (BCE) is considered as the standard of care for high-risk non-metastatic disease. Loss of the renal unit secondary to RNU, especially in elderly patients, causes significant decline in overall renal function which in turn negatively impacts the overall survival (OS). Such radical surgeries can be spared in a select group of the patients with segmental ureterectomy (SU) or distal ureterectomy to salvage the ipsilateral kidney. In this article, we will review the oncological and renal function outcomes following such procedures. This review excludes endourologic procedures. Methods This is a non-systematic review of the published literature focusing on the nephron-sparing surgical alternatives for the management of UTUCs. The following texts were used for literature search: “nephron-sparing surgery”, “segmental ureterectomy”, “total ureterectomy”, “partial nephrectomy”, and “ileal ureter”. We included the articles indexed in PubMed, written in English language, and published within the last 15 years. Key Content and Findings The main argument against the utilization of these procedures is the lack of high quality, level I evidence, which is due to the rarity of this disease and the rates of ipsilateral recurrences. Despite that, the evidence in support of these nephron-sparing surgical alternatives is increasing over time. Published literature including single/multi-centric studies & systematic reviews, suggests comparable oncological outcomes and significantly improved renal function preservation. Lymph node dissection (LND) at the time of nephron-sparing surgical alternatives is largely underutilized. Similarly, the role of neoadjuvant or adjuvant systemic chemotherapy following such procedures is also not established currently. Conclusions With comparable oncological outcomes while preserving renal function, the nephron-sparing surgical alternatives to RNU are gaining momentum. These options can be offered to patients with low volume, localized UTUC with imperative indication for renal preservation such as solitary kidney, compromised baseline, and expected significant decline in post-RNU renal function without compromising oncological principles during surgery.