Nonsurgical ablative approaches to
Renal Cell Carcinoma:
For a variety of reasons, such as advanced age or poor overall health, patients with RCC may also be treated without surgery. Other locally ablative approaches including radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryosurgery have been applied against localized RCC lesions with short term success, achieving complete tumor necrosis in a high percentage of patients, though confirmation of long-term efficacy with these approaches appears to be lacking (7, 8, 9, 10, 11). Although RFA and cryosurgery procedures are considered less invasive than classic resective surgery, significant complications may occur, including major bleeding, ureteral obstruction, urinary leak, bowel injury, abscess, nerve injury, skin burn and pancreatic injury (7, 8, 10, 11).
In summary, though apparently effective in the short to intermediate term, the long term efficacy of non-surgical RCC ablation by radiofrequency heating or cryosurgery, relative to definitive resection, remains undefined. Though a major operation is avoided with these approaches, serious complications may still occur.
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