Does Preoperative Renal Tumour Biopsy Impact Trifecta Achievement in Partial Nephrectomy?

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the effect of renal tumour biopsy (RTB) on trifecta criteria achievement in patients treated with open partial nephrectomy (OPN).

Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with renal cancer and underwent OPN between 2012 and 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. The RTB group consisted of patients who underwent RTB before OPN, while the non-RTB group consisted of those who did not undergo RTB. No matching method was employed since parameters such as tumour size and Padua score were comparable between the two groups. The primary outcome was trifecta achievement, defined as negative surgical margins, warm ischemia time (WIT) <25 minutes, and no complications. Secondary outcomes were the clinicopathologic and survival outcomes of both groups.

Results: There were 137 (82.03%) patients in the non-RTB group and 30 (17.96%) patients in the RTB group. The median postoperative follow-up was 45 (24-141) months. The median tumour size was 3.4 (1-7) cm and 3 (1.4-7) cm in the non-RTB group and RTB group, respectively (p=0.282). Seventy-five of the 137 (54.76%) patients in the non-RTB group and 16 of the 30 (53.3%) patients in the RTB group achieved the trifecta criteria (p=0.878). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of metastasis-free survival (p=0.332) or overall survival (p=0.359) at 24 months. The rate of intraparenchymal lymphovascular invasion was significantly higher in the RTB group (16.6%) than in the non-RTB group (2.92%) (p=0.013).

Conclusions: Our study indicated that trifecta achievement rates were comparable between patients who did and those who did not undergo RTB. Consequently, RTB can be safely performed in renal cancer.