Nephron-sparing Surgery for Renal Cell Carcinoma of the Allograft After Renal Transplantation: Report of Two Cases

Abstract

The risk of renal transplanation patients developing de novo malignancy is increased 100-fold compared with the healthy nontransplantation population. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) arising from native kidneys is diagnosed among up to 4.6% of the renal transplant recipients as a consequence of immunosuppression. These tumors tend to behave more aggressively.1 Although tumors occurring in allografted kidneys can be treated by partial (to save functional graft) or total nephrectomy, there is a paucity of data the outcomes. From 1978 to 2012, we performed 804 kidney transplantations including two cases in which RCC arose from the allografted kidney, both of which were treated with nephron-sparing surgery. The first patient has been followed for 30 months with a well functioning graft without an RCC recurrence. The second patient has returned to dialysis after 6 months due to an insufficient remnant nephron mass. In conclusion, nephron-sparing surgery is a novel alternative to total nephrectomy for allograft RCC. The remaining kidney can preserve function and the patient may not need chronic dialysis.