Abstract
Nephrectomy is performed for the treatment of kidney cancer or for the purpose of kidney transplantation. Generally, kidney function decreases after nephrectomy. It is well known that the incidence of cardiovascular disease increases and ultimately the mortality rate increases when kidney function decreases. Therefore, when renal mass is detected, partial nephrectomy (PN) is preferred over radical nephrectomy (RN) to preserve kidney function as much as possible. However, recent studies have shown that PN does not have a survival benefit in all patients compared to RN. Meanwhile, numerous studies for living kidney donors showed that kidney donation itself did not increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. However, recent studies have shown that kidney donors have higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and higher mortality rates than the general populations. It is yet difficult to find a conclusion in these debates. We have to make a clinical decision rest on the balance of potential benefits and harms of competing treatments, personalized to the individual patient.
Funder
National Research Foundation of Korea
Ministry of Science and ICT
Publisher
Korean Urological Oncology Society
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,General Engineering,General Environmental Science