Beyond glomerular filtration rate: histological assessment of renal integrity after radiofrequency ablation for localized renal cell carcinoma
This study evaluates radiofrequency ablation for high-risk localized renal cell carcinoma, revealing complete tumor necrosis in most cases and minor complications. Despite stable glomerular filtration rates, tissue biomarkers indicated microvascular and structural renal injury, highlighting limitations of GFR in post-ablation renal assessment.
Aim. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of radiofrequency ablation in high-risk patients with localized renal cell carcinoma and to assess the limitations of glomerular filtration rate in post-ablation renal function assessment. Materials and methods. This single-center retrospective cohort included 24 patients with localized renal tumors treated with radiofrequency ablation between 2008 and 2019 at the Zaporizhzhia Regional Antitumor Center. Indications comprised solitary kidney (n = 5), bilateral tumors (n = 3), and local treatment in the setting of recurrent or metastatic disease (n = 18); categories were not mutually exclusive. A percutaneous approach was used in 21 (87.5 %) patients, laparoscopic in 1 (4.2 %), and open in 2 (8.3 %). Core-needle tissue samples from macroscopically intact parenchyma adjacent to the ablation zone were obtained intraoperatively and 72 hours after ablation. Immunohistochemical analysis of CD34 and HIF-1α expression was performed and correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical evaluation. Results. Complete tumor necrosis was observed in 75–100 % of cases. Most complications were minor (Clavien–Dindo I–II: 29.2 %), while serious adverse events (IIIa–IV) occurred in three patients (12.5 %). The mean hospital stay was 3.0 ± 0.8 days. Clear cell carcinoma was the predominant histology – (83.3 %), with papillary carcinoma in 16.7 %. Tumor size ranged from 2.1 cm to 4.0 cm (mean 3.2 ± 0.5 cm); 37.5 % of patients had lesions >3 cm. Postoperative immunohistochemistry showed a significant decrease in CD34 expression (100 ± 15 vs. 58 ± 12; p = 0.014) and an increase in HIF-1α levels (25 ± 8 vs. 78 ± 14; p = 0.008) despite a stable estimated glomerular filtration rate (62.4 ± 7.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 vs. 61.9 ± 8.1 mL/min/1.73 m2, p = 0.74). Conclusions. Radiofrequency ablation is an effective nephron-sparing option for high-risk patients with localized renal cell carcinoma. However, stable estimated glomerular filtration rate values may mask subclinical parenchymal injury; tissue-level biomarkers capture structural and microvascular alterations. These findings support prospective validation.
- Research Article
18
- 10.1016/j.jvir.2017.07.023
- Sep 13, 2017
- Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Radiofrequency Ablation of T1a Renal Cell Carcinomas within Renal Transplant Allografts: Oncologic Outcomes and Graft Viability
- Research Article
93
- 10.1016/s1470-2045(18)30932-x
- Mar 14, 2019
- The Lancet Oncology
Predictive value of single-nucleotide polymorphism signature for recurrence in localised renal cell carcinoma: a retrospective analysis and multicentre validation study.
- Research Article
19
- 10.1016/j.juro.2014.01.088
- Feb 8, 2014
- Journal of Urology
Impact of Recurrent Copy Number Alterations and Cancer Gene Mutations on the Predictive Accuracy of Prognostic Models in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
- Research Article
49
- 10.1016/j.jvir.2009.04.013
- Jul 1, 2009
- Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Reporting Standards for Percutaneous Thermal Ablation of Renal Cell Carcinoma
- Research Article
360
- 10.1002/cncr.11426
- May 29, 2003
- Cancer
Some surgeons have advocated delaying resection of liver metastases to allow additional metastases which may be present, but are undetected, to be identified. This "test-of-time" approach can limit the number of resections performed on patients who ultimately will develop additional metastases. The current study evaluated the potential role and possible advantages of performing radiofrequency (RF) ablation during the interval between diagnosis and hepatic metastasectomy as part of a test-of-time management approach. Eighty-eight consecutive patients with 134 colorectal carcinoma liver metastases were potential candidates for hepatic metastasectomy. They were treated with percutaneous RF ablation using single (101 treatments) or triple-probe cluster (22 treatments) 18-gauge internally cooled electrodes. Treatment was performed under conscious sedation (22 of 119 treatments), anesthesia (14 of 119 treatments), or general anesthesia (83 of 119 treatments). At the time of the initial RF ablation procedure, 49 of 88 patients (56%) were found to have 1 metastasis, 32 of 88 patients (36%) had 2 metastases, and 7 of 88 patients (8%) had 3 metastases. Metastases ranged from 0.6 to 4.0 cm in greatest dimension (mean, 2.1 cm). Follow-up with serial computed tomography scans scans ranged from 18 to 75 months (median, 33 months) after the initial RF ablation. A total of 119 RF ablations were performed. Complete necrosis was obtained in 53 of 88 patients (60%) and in 85 of 134 lesions (63%). During follow-up of these 53 patients, 16 (30%) remained free of disease and 37 (70%) developed new lesions. New lesions were intrahepatic in 26 of 37 patients (70%), extrahepatic in 4 patients (11%), and both intrahepatic and extrahepatic in 7 patients (19%). Of 26 patients whose new lesions were intrahepatic only, 15 (58%) were retreated with RF and 7 were free of disease at the time of last follow-up (median follow-up, 28 months). Ten additional patients with only intrahepatic new lesions were deemed untreatable and 1 patient underwent resection. Overall, among the 53 patients in whom complete tumor necrosis was achieved after RF ablation therapy, 52 (98%) were spared surgical resection: 23 (44%) because they have remained free of disease and 29 (56%) because they developed disease progression. Among all 88 patients, 21 (24%) underwent resection after RF ablation (8 were free of disease at the time of last follow-up), 23 (26%) remained free of disease after successful RF ablation, and 56 (64%) developed untreatable disease progression (44 after RF alone, 12 after RF and surgery). Lesions in 35 of 88 patients (40%) demonstrated local tumor recurrence on follow-up imaging studies. Twenty of these 35 patients (57%) underwent surgical resection, whereas the remaining 15 patients (43%) developed additional, untreatable metastases. New lesions were intrahepatic in 9 of 15 patients (60%), extrahepatic in 1 of 15 patients (7%), and both intrahepatic and extrahepatic in 5 of 15 patients (33%). No patient who had been treated with RF ablation became unresectable due to the growth of metastases and there was no evidence of needle track seeding in any patient after RF ablation. Overall, among the 35 patients in whom complete tumor necrosis was not achieved after RF ablation therapy, 15 (43%) were spared surgical resection. The results of the current study suggest that current RF ablation techniques, when used as part of a test-of-time management approach, can decrease the number of resections performed. The approach results in complete tumor necrosis in some patients and provide an interval for others who ultimately will develop new intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic metastases to do so.
- Research Article
306
- 10.1016/j.jhep.2009.12.004
- Jan 17, 2010
- Journal of Hepatology
Clinical outcomes of radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous alcohol and acetic acid injection for hepatocelullar carcinoma: A meta-analysis
- Research Article
18
- 10.1016/j.jvir.2014.09.014
- Nov 7, 2014
- Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation of Sporadic Bosniak III or IV Lesions: Treatment Techniques and Short-Term Outcomes
- Research Article
31
- 10.1053/j.ackd.2013.09.003
- Dec 20, 2013
- Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma
- Front Matter
1157
- 10.1093/annonc/mdz056
- May 1, 2019
- Annals of Oncology
Renal cell carcinoma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up†.
- Research Article
64
- 10.1148/radiol.13130221
- Oct 28, 2013
- Radiology
To compare clinical outcomes of radiofrequency (RF) ablation retrospectively with those after radical nephrectomy in patients with stage T1b renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and the requirement to obtain written informed consent was waived. From June 2002 to March 2012, 60 patients (mean age, 65.2 years; age range, 39-86 years) with a single RCC measuring 4.1-7.0 cm (stage T1b) underwent RF ablation (n = 21) or radical nephrectomy (n = 39). Selective renal artery embolization was performed before RF ablation in eight patients. The overall, RCC-related, and disease-free survival rates, the percentage decrease in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and safety were compared by using the log-rank (survival), paired and Student t (GFR), and Fisher exact (safety) tests. The overall survival rate was significantly lower in the RF ablation group than in the radical nephrectomy group (48% vs 97% at 10 years, respectively; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.4%, 76.7% vs 78.2%, 99.5%; P < .009). The RCC-related survival rate (94% [95% CI: 62.6%, 99.1%] with RF ablation vs 100% with radical nephrectomy at 10 years) and the disease-free survival rate (88% [95% CI: 59.2%, 96.9%] with RF ablation vs 84% [95% CI: 60.6%, 94.3%] with radical nephrectomy at 10 years, P = .99) were comparable between the two groups. No treatment-related deaths occurred. Although major complication rates were similar between the two patient groups (8.0% [two of 25 patients] vs 5.1% [two of 39 patients], P = .61), the percentage decrease in the GFR was significantly lower in the RF ablation group than in the radical nephrectomy group at the last follow-up (12.5% ± 23.4 vs 32.3% ± 20.8, respectively; P < .003). RF ablation is a safe procedure for patients at substantial surgical risk for radical nephrectomy, providing comparable RCC-related and disease-free survival and preserving renal function.
- Research Article
39
- 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19991201)86:11<2320::aid-cncr20>3.0.co;2-0
- Dec 1, 1999
- Cancer
Recent reports have shown altered expression of CD44 in renal cell carcinomas. However, to the authors' knowledge there are no data correlating CD44 expression in renal cell carcinomas with subsequent tumor progression or recurrence, nor is there information about the presence of particular splice variants of CD44 in these tumors. The authors examined the immunohistochemical expression of CD44S, the standard isoform of CD44, in renal cell carcinomas from 43 patients using 2 different monoclonal antibodies, Mab2137 and Hermes-3. In addition, they stained the renal cell carcinomas with antibodies to 2 splice variants of CD44, CD44v3 and CD44v6. Increased staining of renal clear cell carcinomas with Mab2137 was observed in high grade versus low grade tumors (45% vs. 0%, P = 0.013), whereas increased staining of clear cell carcinomas with Hermes-3 was noted in high stage versus low stage tumors (40% vs. 0%, P = 0.006). Few tumors stained with antibodies to CD44v3. Although increased expression of the splice variant CD44v6 was noted in papillary versus clear cell carcinomas, and increased staining of papillary carcinomas with Mab2137 and with antibodies to CD44v6 was noted for low stage versus high stage tumors, these differences did not achieve statistical significance. Clinical follow-up of at least 43 months was available for 26 patients. Six of these patients (five with clear cell carcinoma and one with papillary carcinoma) developed progressive or recurrent disease. The primary tumors from all 5 patients with progressive or recurrent clear cell carcinoma showed staining with Mab2137, whereas the primary tumors from only 2 of the 15 patients with at least 43 months follow-up and no evidence of progressive or recurrent clear cell carcinoma (13%) showed staining with Mab2137 (P = 0.001). Alternatively, 5 of 7 clear cell carcinomas (71%) that stained with Mab2137 were from patients who subsequently developed recurrence or progression, compared with 0 of 13 clear cell carcinomas that did not stain. Similar findings were not observed for papillary carcinomas, which appeared to be biologically distinct from clear cell carcinomas. CD44S staining with Mab2137 correlates with progression or recurrence of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. CD44S may, therefore, play a pathogenetic role in tumor progression.
- Research Article
3
- 10.1016/j.aace.2022.07.003
- Aug 18, 2022
- AACE Clinical Case Reports
Radiofrequency Ablation of Recurrent Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Cancer to a Lymph Node
- Research Article
- 10.1016/j.acuroe.2025.501857
- Sep 1, 2025
- Actas urologicas espanolas
Ablative techniques in renal tumours for inoperable patients: Step forward in SBRT.
- Research Article
35
- 10.1016/j.jvir.2017.06.016
- Jul 19, 2017
- Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Liver Resection versus Radiofrequency Ablation plus Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization in Cirrhotic Patients with Solitary Large Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- Book Chapter
- 10.1007/978-3-030-28333-9_1
- Nov 28, 2019
- Kidney Cancer
This chapter addresses the surgical management of localized, locally advanced, and metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Multiple management options are available for clinical T1 renal mass. Partial nephrectomy is the treatment of choice for the management of clinical T1 renal cell carcinoma. Alternative nephron-sparing procedures for patients with clinical T1 renal cell carcinoma include thermal ablative therapies, such as radiofrequency ablation and renal cryosurgery. Active surveillance is an acceptable management option for small renal masses <4 cm in unfit patients or those with limited life expectancy. Radical nephrectomy is still the first choice for patients with localized renal cell carcinoma with large size or unsuitable location for nephron-sparing surgery. Radical nephrectomy and inferior vena cava thrombectomy are possible solutions for renal cell carcinoma and inferior vena cava thrombus.