Comprehensive Summary
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict postoperative renal function in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who underwent nephrectomy. Following PRISMA guidelines, nine studies using AI models such as Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, XGBoost, and transformer-based algorithms were analyzed. The pooled AUROC for predictive accuracy was 0.79 (0.75–0.84), suggesting strong potential for AI-driven prediction. The review found that models integrating multimodal data—including clinical, radiological, and laboratory variables—tend to achieve higher accuracy. However, challenges remain regarding data heterogeneity, lack of standardization, and limited external validation across studies.
Outcomes and Implications
AI models show potential in forecasting postoperative renal function, which could help clinicians personalize surgical planning, anticipate chronic kidney disease risk, and improve patient outcomes after nephrectomy. Future studies must emphasize standardized data reporting, diverse and multicenter datasets, and transparent model interpretation.