Renal Ablation Safe, Effective for Elderly Patients

Percutaneous ablation provides a safe and effective way to manage small renal tumors in elderly patients, researchers reported at the Society for Interventional Radiology annual meeting.

Andrew Miller, MD, and collaborators at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., examined the outcomes of 104 percutaneous ablation procedures performed for T1a renal tumors in patients aged 80 years or older (mean age 84 years). These included 62 cryoablation procedures and 42 radiofrequency ablation (RFA) procedures. Patients had a mean tumor size of 2.7 cm.

The estimated overall survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years was 94%, 78%, and 53%, respectively, following cryoablation, and 100%, 80%, and 58%, respectively, following RFA. The estimated recurrence-free survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 99%, 97%, and 91%, respectively, following cryoablation, and 97%, 94%, and 94%, respectively, following RFA.

Patients had a mean hospital stay of 1.2 nights. Five procedures (4.6%) resulted in major complications: 4 after cryoablation and 1 after RFA. None resulted in death.

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