Kidney disease research highlights diagnostic gaps and regional disparities

New research presented at ASN Kidney Week 2026 indicates that standard kidney function tests significantly underestimate the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cancer patients. A study of 1,200 adults with solid tumors found that while measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR) showed a CKD prevalence of 18.9%, creatinine-based estimates placed it at only 10.2%. This discrepancy may lead to improper drug dosing and increased toxicity in patients receiving anticancer therapies.

In other developments, researchers have validated ‘Treat CKD’, a clinical decision support tool designed to automate CKD identification and risk classification using electronic health records. When implemented at the University of California, San Francisco, clinicians found the tool easy to integrate into routine primary care workflows.

Additionally, data from 1999 to 2022 reveals a growing health disparity along the US–Mexico border. CKD-related mortality in these counties rose from 48.2 to 81.4 deaths per 100,000 population, a growth rate nearly double that of non-border counties. This increase is linked to a shortage of nephrologists, with lower specialist density correlating to higher mortality rates.