The kidney cancer treatment landscape has vastly changed in the past 6 years offering many treatment options and more coming ~ new drugs and combination therapies.
The access to new treatment options and understanding what might be right for you can be confusing for patients and their caregivers when making decisions with their health care professionals.
Incidental findings of small renal masses are increasing around the world largely due to more frequent abdominal imaging which has also led to an increase in the detection of renal cell carcinoma. In 2020, it was estimated that 7500 Canadians would be diagnosed with kidney cancer.
There is no “one-size-fits-all” strategy to the management of patients with small renal masses. Shared decision making must consider tumour characteristics, patient’s age, and other medical conditions as well as their values and preferences for individualized management plans. The Canadian Urological Association updated the guidelines of the management of small renal masses to provide evidence-based recommendations to help clinicians and patients in the evaluation and management of small renal masses.
Dr. Patrick Richard, Uro-Oncologist and a lead author on the updated guidelines joined us to review the recommendations and help newly diagnosed kidney cancer patients better understand their illness and take an active role through shared decision making.
View guidelines here