Open Access

ARTICLE

New technologies for ablation of small renal tumors: current status

Joseph L. Chin, Stephen E. Pautler

Division of Urology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Address correspondence to Dr. Joseph L. Chin, London Health Science Centre, 800 Commissioners Road East, London, Ontario N6A 4G5 Canada

Canadian Journal of Urology 2002, 9(4), 1576-1582.

Abstract

The diagnostic rate of small, "incidental" tumors which are amenable to local excision or ablation has increased significantly due to widespread use of non-invasive body imaging tests. The role of nephron-sparing tumor­ablative surgery has expanded beyond the traditional circumstances of neoplasms in solitary/functionally solitary kidneys or tumors present bilaterally. Due to technologic advances, possible therapeutic options now include open surgery, laparoscopic, percutaneous and extraciorporeal approaches, in addition to surveillance in some cases. This review will concentrate on the new energy sources available for tumor ablation rather than the different surgical approaches, with a detailed review of renal cryoablation, radiofrequency and high intensity focused ultrasound. The emphasis is on the experimental data and the limited clinical data available to date, and challenges and current limitations of the various modalities.

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Keywords

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