RF Treatment Successful on Kidney Tumors

A U.S. study says a new, minimally invasive treatment appears to be highly effective in treating kidney tumors

Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., said radio-frequency ablation was 93 percent successful in eradicating malignant kidney tumors, the university said Friday in a release.

The study involved 104 patients with a total of 125 tumors ranging from 0.6 cm to 8.8 cm. Of the 125 tumors, 95 were smaller than 3.7 cm and were completely eradicated in one treatment. Fourteen larger tumors were also eradicated after one treatment. Of the 16 remaining larger tumors, seven were eradicated after a second treatment.

There was a very low rate of serious complications and ablation was uniform and complete throughout the treated area, with no evidence of recurrence within the margins of the treated tumors, said Dr. Ronald J. Zagoria, lead author of the study. Also, 95 percent of patients were treated with minimal discomfort and they were able to go home the same day the procedure was completed, he said.