Trends in surgical and ablative treatment of localised renal cell carcinoma: A review of publication trends over 16 years (2000–2015)

Objective: To investigate the bibliometric (publication) trends in surgical and ablative treatment of localised renal cell carcinoma (RCC) over a period of 16-years, from 2000 to 2015, as publication trends reflect clinical practice and new innovations. Material and methods: We performed a systematic review using PubMed over a 16-year period from 2000 to 2015 for all published papers on surgical and ablative management of renal tumours. Data were further analysed in two time periods, period-1 (2000–2007) and period-2 (2008–2015). Results: During the last 16 years a total of 2415 papers were published on surgical (n = 1662, 69%) and ablative (n = 753, 31%) management of RCC. This included partial nephrectomy (PN; n = 1662, 69%), cryoablation (CA; n = 405, 17%), and radiofrequency ablation (RFA; n = 348, 14%). When comparing the two time periods for PN, during period-2, the change was +189% (P < 0.001), +69% (P = 0.004) and +4600% (P < 0.001) for open PN, laparoscopic PN and robotic PN, respectively. Regarding ablative techniques, a change of +109% (P = 0.002) and +78% (P = 0.036) was seen for CA and RFA, respectively. There was also a significant rise in percutaneous CA when compared to laparoscopic CA (P < 0.002). Conclusions: There has been a rise in all forms of PN and ablative techniques over the last 16 years. This rise has been particularly steep for robotic PN potentially reflecting a change in surgical practice. Abbreviations: CA: cryoablation; CC: correlation coefficient; MIS: minimally invasive surgery/surgical; NSS: nephron-sparing surgery; (L)(O)(R)PN: (laparoscopic) (open) (robotic) partial nephrectomy; PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; RFA: radiofrequency ablation; RN: radical nephrectomy; SRM: small renal mass