Some patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) can be effectively treated nonsurgically with thermal percutaneous ablation, according to a new position statement from the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR).
The position statement -- the first ever for the SIR on the topic -- recommends the use of thermal percutaneous ablation for small renal tumors, as it offers a safe and effective treatment with fewer complications than nephrectomy and acceptable long-term oncological and survival outcomes. The document also provides recommendations on considering treatment compared with active surveillance and discusses incorporating ablation for appropriate patients with T1b disease, according to the society.
Authored by a multidisciplinary group of experts including interventional radiologists and urologists, the position statement and an accompanying quality improvement document that offers patient safety performance thresholds were published in the February issue of the SIR's Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, according to the society.
"An image-guided biopsy by an [interventional radiologist] can confirm a diagnosis of cancer, and the interventional radiologist can be a game-changer as a partner physician on the cancer care team, expanding access to the complete range of therapeutic options, tailored to the individual patient," said SIR President Dr. Laura Findeiss in a statement.
Although they said radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, and microwave are appropriate modalities, the authors noted that the ablation method should be left to the discretion of the operating physician. More research is needed, however, on the role of percutaneous ablation in treating high-risk patients with more advanced disease and who aren't surgical candidates, the SIR said.
