Thermal ablation for localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) preserves kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to data presented at the 22nd annual meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology.

Arighno Das, MD, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and colleagues studied 434 patients who underwent a total of 520 thermal ablations (either cryoablation or microwave ablation) for localized RCC (average 1.3 per patient). The patients had a median tumor size of 2.7 cm.

Among patients with CKD stage 3 or higher, the average estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) remained stable during the 12 months following ablation. The average baseline eGFR was 42.6 mL/min/1.73 m². At 6 and 12 months, the average eGFR was 41.2 and 42.2 mL/min/1.73 m², respectively.

Patients with CKD stage 3a or higher had a significantly worse 5-year recurrence-free survival rate compared with those who had CKD stage 1 or 2 (73.3% vs 87.5%), but 5-year metastasis-free survival rates did not differ significantly (87.3% vs 91.4%), according to the investigators.

Of the 434 patients, 54 (10.4%) had a solitary kidney and 50 (9.6%) had a prior partial or radical nephrectomy. Patients had a median age of 67 years.

Thermal Ablation for Kidney Cancer Preserves Kidney Function in CKD

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