Focal Therapy for Kidney Cancer

Department of Urologic Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA.

Surgical excision remains the standard of care for treatment of localized small renal masses (SRMs). Laparoscopic and percutaneous minimally invasive ablative technologies are being increasingly employed in current urologic practice. We review recent literature regarding focal ablative treatments of SRMs.

Most cryoablations are performed using a laparoscopic approach, whereas radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the SRM is more commonly administered percutaneously. Pretreatment biopsy is performed more often for lesions treated by cryoablation than RFA with a significantly higher rate of indeterminate or unknown pathology for SRMs undergoing RFA versus cryoablation (P <>

Currently, data on the ability of interventions for SRMs to affect the natural history of these masses are lacking. Prospective randomized evaluations of available clinical approaches to SRMs are needed.