New trends in surgical treatment of kidney cancer

Kidney cancer represents almost 5 % of all oncological diagnoses. The incidence of the disease has been further increasing and the majority is caused by an accumulation of small "incidental" tumours. Expansion of diagnostic methods and implementation of new technologies (laparoscopy and robotic assisted surgery) over the last 10 years, has caused a paradigm shift in its surgical treatment. Laparoscopic approach is the standard in radical nephrectomy. When possible, nephron sparing surgery is the preferred type of treatment due to the excellent oncological results, which are supported by better overall survival compared to radical nephrectomy. Robot assisted partial nephrectomy for kidney tumour is gradually replacing an open surgical approach. (author)