Risk Stratification of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma for Kidney-Sparing Surgery Publisher



Parizi MK^{1, 2, 3, 4} ; Fajkovic H^{1, 3, 4} ; Shariat SF^{1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
Source: Bladder Cancer: A Practical Guide Published:2021

Abstract

Several prognostic factors have been identified to risk stratify patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). However, due to heterogeneity of these prognosticators and the presence of different therapeutic modalities for this rare and heterogeneous disease, decision-making and patient consultation remains challenging. In this chapter, we provided an overview of the prognostic factors that can help risk stratify patients for kidney-sparing versus radical surgery. Several studies confirmed the value of patient- and tumor-related factors for prognosticating oncological outcomes in UTUC patients. However, due to the retrospective nature of these studies, the true clinical impact needs to be assessed in well-designed prospective controlled studies to increase the accuracy and fortify evidence-driven clinical decision-making process. It is today clear that biomarkers are needed to capture the biologic and clinical potential of each individual tumor. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.