TITLE:
Indeterminate Surgical Margins after Partial Nephrectomy: Results from the Cancer Registry of Norway
AUTHORS:
Eskil S. Pedersen, Ovidiu S. Barnoiu, Tom B. Johannesen, Thomas Bjerregaard Bertelsen, Lien M. Diep, Karin M. Hjelle, Christian Beisland
KEYWORDS:
Indeterminate Surgical Margins, Undetermined Margins, Local Recurrence, Partial Nephrectomy, Metastasis, Survival
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Urology,
Vol.16 No.4,
April
24,
2026
ABSTRACT: Objectives: To determine the predictors and incidence for indeterminate surgical margins (ISMs) following partial nephrectomy (PN) and to assess associated clinical outcomes. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of 524 patients from the Cancer Registry of Norway who underwent PN between January 2014 and December 2015, with follow-up in 2021. Univariate and multivariate analysis were utilized to identify risk factors, while survival plots were employed to assess local recurrence, metastasis and overall survival. Results: ISMs occurred in 24 patients (5%). Hospitals performing 30 PNs/year (3.3%). Fuhrmann grade and number of histological sections emerged as significant risk factors, with ISMs in 8.3% of patients with Fuhrmann grade 1 and 10.8% in > 10 histological sections compared to 3.6% in Conclusion: ISMs is an uncommon finding following PNs. Low surgical volume, the use of more than 10 histological sections, Fuhrmann grade 1 and treatment at non-university hospitals are risk factors for ISMs. Patients with ISMs have a higher risk for local recurrence and should be followed more closely than those with negative margins.