ASO Author Reflections: Kidney Function After Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Resection with Nephrectomy

Excerpt

Surgery is the primary treatment for retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) and the only curative therapy. Complete surgical resection is critical to the achievement of good oncologic outcomes, but the location and insidious presentation of RPS result in high rates of contiguous organ invasion at presentation. Resection of one or more organs in addition to the tumor occurs for approximately 40% of patients.1 The kidney is one of the most frequently resected organs at the time of RPS resection, second only to the bowel. Despite the oncologic benefit of R0 and R1 resections, the risks of nephrectomy must be carefully considered for this patient population. The catastrophic outcome of renal injury progressing to end-stage-renal disease (ESRD) and permanent dialysis must be avoided whenever possible. The average 5-year survival rate for a patient after initiation of dialysis is only 42.9%, lower than many reported survival rates for RPS.2,3 Additionally, dialysis has a severe impact on quality of life for patients already burdened by cancer-related treatment and stressors. …