Percutaneous Renal Cryoablation

This research topic discusses how safe and effective the use of cryoablation is to treat a renal tumor. Cryoablation is a procedure performed in the Interventional Radiology department to kill cancer cells using very cold temperatures. This procedure is done when the patient cannot have surgery to remove the tumor itself. Although the tumor is not removed during cryoablation, the treatment is performed to freeze the tumor to prohibit growth while releasing antigens from the tumor which triggers an immune response. To see if cryoablation is as effective as some say, a qualitative study was conducted which used 174 renal tumors that were treated by computed tomography (CT) guided cryoablations done between February of 2011 and June of 2020. Procedural success, effectiveness and complications were evaluated for each procedure. The results of this study were that in 98.3% of tumors (171/174), procedural success was achieved. The effectiveness of treatments was 95.3% which then increased to 98.2% after retreats. Overall, there was a complication rate of 29.8%. At 1 year after the procedure there was 100% recurrence-free survival, at 3 years there was 95.3% recurrence-free survival and at 5 years there was 88.6% recurrence-free survival. From this study one can conclude that cryoablation is a safe and effective procedure even years after it is performed. This technique is able to treat small renal tumors without any major complications. Possible implications from this research could be used while working in the interventional radiology department to ensure patients understand that this procedure is safe and effective. Keywords: cryoablation; renal tumor treatment; renal cryoablation; interventional radiologyhttps://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/medimg_seniorposters/1021/thumbnail.jp