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. 2023 Apr;41(4):929-940.
doi: 10.1007/s00345-022-03993-6. Epub 2022 Apr 1.

Screening programs for renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review by the EAU young academic urologists renal cancer working group

Pietro Diana  1   2 , Tobias Klatte  3 , Daniele Amparore  4   5 , Riccardo Bertolo  5   6 , Umberto Carbonara  5   7 , Selcuk Erdem  5   8 , Alexandre Ingels  5   9   10 , Onder Kara  5   11 , Laura Marandino  5   12 , Michele Marchioni  5   13   14 , Stijn Muselaers  5   15 , Nicola Pavan  5   16 , Angela Pecoraro  4   5 , Alessio Pecoraro  17 , Eduard Roussel  5   18 , Riccardo Campi  19   20   21 ; European Association of Urology (EAU) Young Academic Urologists (YAU) Renal Cancer group
Affiliations

Screening programs for renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review by the EAU young academic urologists renal cancer working group

Pietro Diana et al. World J Urol. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: To systematically review studies focused on screening programs for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and provide an exhaustive overview on their clinical impact, potential benefits, and harms.

Methods: A systematic review of the recent English-language literature was conducted according to the European Association of Urology guidelines and the PRISMA statement recommendations (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021283136) using the MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. Risk-of-bias assessment was performed according to the QUality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool.

Results: Overall, nine studies and one clinical trials were included. Eight studies reported results from RCC screening programs involving a total of 159 136 patients and four studies reported screening cost-analysis. The prevalence of RCC ranged between 0.02 and 0.22% and it was associated with the socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects; selection of the target population decreased, overall, the screening cost per diagnosis.

Conclusions: Despite an increasing interest in RCC screening programs from patients and clinicians there is a relative lack of studies reporting the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and the optimal modality for RCC screening. Targeting high-risk individuals and/or combining detection of RCC with other health checks represent pragmatic options to improve the cost-effectiveness and reduce the potential harms of RCC screening.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Cancer; Imaging; Kidney; Renal cancer; Screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart showing the main steps of the review process and the final number of studies included and excluded according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement recommendations
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Graphical overview of the overall risk of bias judgements for the studies included in the review according to the Quality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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