Korean Urologic Oncology Society Guidelines: Does Angioembolization Improve the Quality of Life for Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients With Intractable Symptoms Who Are Unfit for Surgery?

Purpose There is a lack of guidelines for using angioembolization to manage renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients with intractable symptoms. Therefore, the Korean Urologic Oncology Society (KUOS) developed a set of recommendations for angioembolization for RCC patients with intractable symptoms who are unfit for surgery. Materials and Methods A rigorous systematic review was performed and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) methodology was used to rate the certainty of the evidence for the patient outcomes and to develop the evidence into recommendations. The steering group, guidelines development group, systematic review team, and external review group consisted of KUOS members involved in the guideline development process. Results The guidelines address the benefits, harms, patients’ values and preferences, costs, and resources related to angioembolization by using a single clinical question: Does angioembolization improve the quality of life for RCC patients with intractable symptoms who are unfit for surgery? Conclusions The guideline development panel suggests angioembolization for RCC patients with intractable symptoms compared with supportive therapies, including systemic treatment (very low certainty of evidence, weak recommendation).