Kidney Cancer Survivors Benefit From Increased Psychological Support, With Logan Briggs, MD

Psychological support demonstrates significantly positive clinical outcomes for kidney cancer survivors enrolled in prehabilitation or rehabilitation programs, according to a new scoping review.

“This study is the first systematic search of the literature on prehabilitation, rehabilitation, exercise, psychological support, or nutrition interventions for KC survivors or their caregivers,” wrote Logan Briggs, a study investigator and senior urology resident at Mayo Clinic Arizona, and colleagues. “The broad scope of the search is a strength in that it provides a comprehensive review.”

The findings support strengthening psychological support services as part of comprehensive cancer care for patients with kidney cancer, while also acknowledging potential benefits associated with tailored exercise programs and preoperative carbohydrate supplementation.

“Across the board, these interventions improved anxiety and depression, and in many cases, also enhanced quality of life, sleep, post-traumatic symptoms, and even physical functioning,” explained Logan Briggs, in an interview with HCPLive. “About half of the studies included patients with advanced cancer, which may contribute to higher anxiety levels, though the benefits of psychological support were consistent. The takeaway for clinicians is that any type of psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, or social worker can provide meaningful support for these patients.”

As Briggs noted, prehabilitation and rehabilitation interventions for kidney cancer survivors remain largely unexplored, with substantial gaps in the literature. To date, only 18 randomized controlled trials have evaluated these approaches. Notably, no studies have assessed cost-effectiveness or stratified outcomes by socioeconomic or demographic characteristics.

To address these gaps, Briggs and colleagues conducted a scoping review of all 18 randomized controlled trials involving kidney cancer survivors enrolled in prehabilitation or rehabilitation programs. Interventions included psychological support, exercise-based programs, and nutritional or pharmacologic components. For each study, they recorded whether interventions yielded statistically significant positive, negative or no significant difference for the outcomes of interest.

The systematic search identified 2774 unique participants, including 706 patients or survivors with kidney cancer. Of the 18 trials, 6 exclusively enrolled patients with kidney cancer, while the remaining 12 included kidney cancer survivors as a subset of a broader cancer population.

Across intervention types, investigators found cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness meditation, yoga, body scanning, positive expressive writing, Morita therapy, and mindful eating were associated with positive clinical outcomes. Among the 7 trials focused solely on psychological support, 6 demonstrated improvement. Additionally, all 3 studies combining psychological support with exercise showed benefit.

In contrast, nutrition was a notably understudied area. Only 1 trial demonstrated significant findings, showing that preoperative carbohydrate drinks administered the night before and 2 hours prior to radical nephrectomy improved quality of life and reduced postoperative weight loss. Beyond this, evidence to guide nutritional interventions for this population was limited.

Exercise interventions varied widely, ranging from high-intensity interval training to step-count monitoring using wearable devices. Some studies evaluated exercise alone, while others combined physical activity with psychological support.

“One key finding is that well-designed exercise programs, those that are tailored to the patient, follow the FIT principles (frequency, intensity, time, type), and have a clear rationale, tend to produce the best outcomes,” said Briggs.

He described this concept as the “therapeutic validity” of an exercise intervention. Using the Therapeutic Content Scale developed by Hoojeboom, studies scoring >6 out of 9 were considered to demonstrate strong therapeutic validity. Investigators observed increased validity scores correlated with improved patient outcomes, including VO₂ max, step counts, and mobility measures such as the Timed Up and Go test.

Editor’s note: Briggs reports relevant disclosures with Delfina, Tolmar, Consens, and others.

References

1. Briggs LG, Parke SC, Gill VS, et al. Exercise, nutrition, and psychological support for kidney cancer: a scoping review. BJU International. Published online January 18, 2026. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/bju.70134
2. Hoogeboom TJ, Kousemaker MC, van Meeteren NL, et al. i-CONTENT tool for assessing therapeutic quality of exercise programs employed in randomised clinical trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020;55(20):1153-1160. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101630