title: EAU guidelines on renal cell carcinoma: 2014 update.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The European Association of Urology Guideline Panel for Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) has prepared evidence-based guidelines and recommendations for RCC management.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide an update of the 2010 RCC guideline based on a standardised methodology that is robust, transparent, reproducible, and reliable.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the 2014 update, the panel prioritised the following topics: percutaneous biopsy of renal masses, treatment of localised RCC (including surgical and nonsurgical management), lymph node dissection, management of venous thrombus, systemic therapy, and local treatment of metastases, for which evidence synthesis was undertaken based on systematic reviews adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Relevant databases (Medline, Cochrane Library, trial registries, conference proceedings) were searched (January 2000 to November 2013) including randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and retrospective or controlled studies with a comparator arm. Risk of bias (RoB) assessment and qualitative and quantitative synthesis of the evidence were performed. The remaining sections of the document were updated following a structured literature assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All chapters of the RCC guideline were updated. For the various systematic reviews, the search identified a total of 10,862 articles. A total of 151 studies reporting on 78,792 patients were eligible for inclusion; where applicable, data from RCTs were included and meta-analyses were performed. For RCTs, there was low RoB across studies; however, clinical and methodological heterogeneity prevented data pooling for most studies. The majority of studies included were retrospective with matched or unmatched cohorts based on single or multi-institutional data or national registries. The exception was for systemic treatment of metastatic RCC, in which several RCTs have been performed, resulting in recommendations based on higher levels of evidence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 2014 guideline has been updated by a multidisciplinary panel using the highest methodological standards, and provides the best and most reliable contemporary evidence base for RCC management.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The European Association of Urology Guideline Panel for Renal Cell Carcinoma has thoroughly evaluated available research data on kidney cancer to establish international standards for the care of kidney cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Urology and Andrology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Borje
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ljungberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Rennes, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bensalah
authors.affiliation: Division of Urology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dabestani
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Sunderby Hospital, Sunderby, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Faculty Hospital and Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hora
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Hanover University Medical School, Hanover, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kuczyk
authors.affiliation: Academic Urology Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Coimbra University Hospital, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marconi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Hanover University Medical School, Hanover, Germany.
authors.forename: Axel S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Merseburger
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mulders
authors.affiliation: Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Powles
authors.affiliation: Urologische Klinik, Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Staehler
authors.affiliation: Division of Urology, Maggiore della Carità Hospital, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: a.bex@nki.nl.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bex
mesh_terms: D000969:Antinematodal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000628:therapy*; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014572:Urology / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D000969:Antinematodal Agents
keywords: Guideline; Meta-analysis; Renal cell carcinoma; Systematic review