Radiofrequency Ablation of Renal Masses

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) continues to emerge as an alternative treatment for renal tumors of an exophytic nature that are less than 4 cm in size. It is a beneficial minimally invasive treatment option that may be delivered laparosopically or percutaneously without general anesthesia. Significant advancements in energy-based treatments coupled with an increasing rate of incidentally detected small renal masses with sophisticated cross-sectional imaging1 have given impetus to the refinement of alternative options in the treatment of these smaller renal masses. Trends in ablative techniques are following the trends of treatment efficacy demonstrated with nephron-sparing surgery for the definitive treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).2,3 Since the initial description to treat in vivo renal tumors by Zlotta and colleagues in 1997,4 there have been refinements in RFA technology applied to a substantial cohort of patients over a relatively brief period of time. Short-term data have demonstrated radiographic and oncological efficacy, substantiating RFA as an additional minimally invasive treatment modality in the treatment of small renal tumors.