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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.

Sec. Nephrology

This article is part of the Research TopicModifiable Risk Factors for Chronic Kidney Disease ProgressionView all 20 articles

Comparative Study of eGFR in Cancer and Non-Cancer Individuals: A Multicenter Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Xin LuoXin Luo1Yunhan LuoYunhan Luo1Zhaohui ZhouZhaohui Zhou1Biao JiangBiao Jiang2Long-bin XiongLong-bin Xiong1Lu Yu PengLu Yu Peng1Baokui YeBaokui Ye3Xiangpeng ZouXiangpeng Zou1Yixin HuangYixin Huang1Yisong LinYisong Lin1Lihao ZhangLihao Zhang1Xiaofeng YangXiaofeng Yang1Pei DongPei Dong1Yuying LiuYuying Liu4Yue YanYue Yan4Xiao-hua LiuXiao-hua Liu5Jiawei XieJiawei Xie6Yulong XiaoYulong Xiao7Bokang CuiBokang Cui8Song WangSong Wang9Jinchang LuJinchang Lu10Zhiting HeZhiting He11Huiming LiuHuiming Liu4Jing LiJing Li12Zhen LiZhen Li13Wei LuWei Lu14Yancen LiYancen Li15Haiying LiuHaiying Liu16Tao JiaTao Jia17Lizhi NiuLizhi Niu18Fangjian ZhouFangjian Zhou1Chunping YuChunping Yu2*ZHILING ZHANGZHILING ZHANG1*
  • 1Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center Department of Urology, Guangzhou, China
  • 2Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
  • 3Department of Intensive Care Unit, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 4Screening Center for Cancer Prevention, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 5Department of Clinical Laboratory, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 6Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 7Department of Gastric Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 8Department of Hepatobiliary Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 9Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center Department of Colorectal Surgery, Guangzhou, China
  • 10Department of Musculoskeletal Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 11Department of Breast Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 12Affiliated Cancer Hospital and Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
  • 13Department of Urology, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, Changsha, China
  • 14Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
  • 15Department of Urology, The First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, Chenzhou, China
  • 16Shenzhen Baoan Shiyan People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
  • 17The People's Hospital of Zheng'an, Zunyi, Zunyi, China
  • 18Biological Treatment Center, Fuda Cancer Hospital, Guangzhou, China

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Abstract Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and renal impairment frequently occurs during its course and treatment due to nephrotoxic chemotherapy and contrast exposure. Understanding baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and its longitudinal changes in cancer patients is essential for effective kidney function management. Methods: This multicenter study included 24,478 treatment-naïve cancer patients admitted to three cancer centers in 2018 and 61,883 non-cancer individuals undergoing health screening in the same year, with follow-up until 2023. eGFR was calculated using the CKD-EPI equation. Baseline eGFR and subsequent changes were compared between groups after stratification by age, sex, and comorbidity. Results: Across all age groups, treatment-naïve cancer patients showed higher baseline eGFR values compared with non-cancer individuals of the same stratum (all p < 0.05). The median kidney volume was also larger in cancer patients (280 cm³ vs. 271 cm³, p < 0.05). During the 5-year follow-up, cancer patients demonstrated a greater annual decline in eGFR than non-cancer individuals (all p < 0.01). Conclusions: Treatment-naïve cancer patients exhibited higher baseline eGFR but a more pronounced subsequent decline compared with non-cancer individuals. These findings reflect observed associations rather than causal effects.

Keywords: Cancer, EGFR, oncology, kidney volumes, Multicenter study

Received: 06 Jun 2025; Accepted: 18 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Luo, Luo, Zhou, Jiang, Xiong, Peng, Ye, Zou, Huang, Lin, Zhang, Yang, Dong, Liu, Yan, Liu, Xie, Xiao, Cui, Wang, Lu, He, Liu, Li, Li, Lu, Li, Liu, Jia, Niu, Zhou, Yu and ZHANG. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Chunping Yu, ychp_83@163.com
ZHILING ZHANG, zhangzhl@sysucc.org.cn

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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