Contemporary treatment of renal tumors: a questionnaire survey in the Nordic countries (the NORENCA-I study)

Abstract

Objective: The five Nordic countries comprise 25 million people, and have similar treatment traditions and healthcare systems. To take advantage of these similarities, a collaborative group (Nordic Renal Cancer Group, NORENCA) was founded in 2015.

Materials and methods: A questionnaire of 17 questions on renal tumor management and surgical education was designed and sent to 91 institutions performing renal tumor surgery in 2015. The response rate was 68% (62 hospitals), including 28 academic, 25 central and nine district hospitals. Hospital volume was defined as low (LVH: < 20 operations), intermediate (IVH: 20–49 operations), high (HVH: 50–99) and very high (VHVH: ≥ 100). Descriptive statistics were performed.

Results: Fifteen centers were LVH, 16 IVH, 21 HVH and 10 VHVH. Of all 3828 kidney tumor treatments, 55% were radical nephrectomies (RNs), 37% partial nephrectomies (PNs) and 8% thermoablations. For RN and PN, the percentages of open, laparoscopic and robotic approaches were 47%, 40%, 13% and 47%, 20%, 33%, respectively. The mean complication rate (Clavien–Dindo 3–5) was 4.9%, and 30 day mortality (TDM) was 0.5%. The median length of hospital stay was 4 days. Training with a simulator, black box or animal laboratory was possible in 48%, 74% and 21% of institutions, respectively.

Conclusions: Despite some differences between countries, the data suggest an overall general common Nordic treatment attitude for renal tumors. Furthermore, the data demonstrate high adherence to international standards, with a high proportion of PN and acceptable rates for major complications and TDM.

Keywords:

• Complication
• kidney cancer
• minimally invasive methods
• mortality
• nephrectomy
• surgery

Disclosure statement

The authors have nothing to disclose, and the study was carried out with no funding from sources other than the institutions mentioned on the title page and the Scandinavian Association of Urology.

All the authors have contributed sufficiently to the paper and approved the submitted manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The NORENCA collaboration group is funded by the Scandinavian Association of Urology (NUF).