Treatment options and outcome for renal cell tumors in the transplanted kidney

The diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma in a transplanted kidney is rare but with possibly devastating consequences. In addition to transplant nephrectomy, which inevitably results in a return to dialysis, various treatment options such as different techniques for nephron sparing sugery and local ablative procedures (like radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation) have been described in the literature. An important issue is to find the balance between the preservation of the transplant function, on the one hand, which is dependent on the maintenance of an immunosuppressive regimen, and a sufficiently radical tumor therapy on the other hand. To provide an overview of current therapeutic attempts to cure transplant renal cell carcinoma under these conditions, published data on related therapies and outcomes are summarized. (Int J Artif Organs 2008, 31: 867-74)