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The following is a summary of “Minimal change glomerular disease associated with solid neoplasms: a systematic review,” published in the October 2024 issue of Nephrology by Cozzo et al.  

Minimal change disease (MCD) is often linked to blood cancers, while solid tumors usually cause membranous glomerulonephritis. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of MCD linked to solid tumors. 

They conducted a systematic review of the MEDLINE, COCHRANE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases, focusing on case reports of adult patients with biopsy-confirmed MCD and solid tumors, with no language or publication date restrictions. 

 The results showed 67 papers, detailing 86 cases with a mean age of 57.8 ± 14.7 years, 41.0% of the cases involved women. Nephrotic syndrome was the initial presentation in 96.2% of the patients; 67.2% experienced kidney function impairment, and 21.2% required kidney replacement therapy. The most common malignancies identified were malignant thymoma (34.9%), kidney (14.0%), lung (12.8%), and gastrointestinal tumors (12.8%). In 40.7% of cases, the neoplasm was diagnosed 33.8 ± 46.1 months before MCD, while in 31.4%, it was diagnosed 12.4 ± 22.6 months after MCD. In 27.9%, both the neoplasm and kidney disease were diagnosed concurrently. Immunosuppressive therapy was initiated in 79.1% of the cases, and tumor-specific treatment was administered in 83.7%. The remission rate for MCD was 80.2%, with 38.2% responding to immunosuppressive therapy and 29.6% responding to oncological treatment. 

Investigators concluded that were effective for MCD associated with solid tumors, and screening for the tumors should be routine, regardless of steroid response. 

 Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40620-024-02084-6