RF ablation promising against small renal tumors

Percutaneous radio frequency (RF) ablation guided by computerized tomography appears to be an effective means of dealing with small renal tumors, researchers report in the August issue of the Journal of Urology.

Dr. Stephen B. Solomon and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, note that the need for less invasive approaches than surgery to treat such patients has led to the development of percutaneous tumor ablation techniques with various energy sources. Among these is RF ablation. The researchers analyzed the results of this approach in 49 of their patients. Their mean age was 63.9 years and they had a total of 60 tumors, all of less than 4 cm. Indications for percutaneous RF ablation included severe comorbidities or previous abdominal surgery which precluded operative management.Altogether, 46 patients (56 tumors) were available for evaluation at a mean follow-up of 27.5 months. Overall, local control was achieved in 53 (94.6%) of the tumors. Recurrence after initial successful treatment was seen in three patients, all of whom had a central tumor of 3.0 cm or more. Summing up, Dr. Solomon told Reuters Health that “our average follow-up time for tumors treated with ablation has been 2 years, and while that is still early, it appears that patients with small renal tumors may be treatable with ‘cooking’ their tumors rather than cutting them out with surgery.”(Source: J Urol 2005;174:456-460: Reuters Health: David Douglas: Oncolink: August 2005.)