Comparison of guideline recommendations with daily practice in patients with renal cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To compare guideline recommendations with daily practice patterns in a German patient cohort with renal cell carcinoma.


METHODS
81 patients with T1 oder T2 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were included in this prospective single-center study. All patients were operated in a single institution either by open radical nephrectomy (ORN) or nephron sparing surgery (NSS). Patients and doctors were evaluated using a written questionnaire with a follow-up of 12 months. Follow-up intervals, follow-up modalities (e. g. imaging modalities, laboratory controls of blood and urine) and the call on psycho-oncological support were evaluated.


RESULTS
The majority of patients (72%) were followed up by their urologists. Follow-up examinations included abdominal ultrasound, urine and blood diagnostics, conventional chest x-rays, computed tomography (CT) of abdomen, chest or head or abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). There were no significant differences between patients operated by ORN or NSS. In total, 12.5% of patients were asking for psycho-oncological support.


CONCLUSIONS
In general, patients were followed up according to existing guideline recommendations. Only a small proportion of patients asked for psycho-oncological treatment.
Schlenker
B
B
Department of Urology, University Hospital Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany. boris.schlenker@med.uni-muenchen.de
Seitz
M
M
Bader
M J
MJ
Ganzer
R
R
Tilki
D
D
Bayrle
F
F
Reich
O
O
Staehler
M
M
Bachmann
A
A
Stief
C G
CG
Gratzke
C
C
D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome