RF ablation knocks out renal cell carcinoma

Small tumors on the surface of the kidney can't escape from radio-frequency ablation treatment, according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital.

In the largest such study to date, the group followed 34 patients who had been treated with RF ablation for 42 renal cell carcinoma tumors during a 3.5-year period. They were able to completely ablate all of the 29 exophytic tumors and both parenchymal tumors in one or more visits. The mean diameter of the tumors was 3.2 cm. The team could completely ablate only five of the 11 tumors that had a component in the renal sinus, which acts as a heat sink by continuously allowing cool blood to flow into the area. The study was published in the February issue of Radiology.