Renal cell carcinoma: Higher local recurrence seen with cryoablation

Washington-Renal cryoablation has its advantages and its champions within the urologic surgical world, but in at least one multicenter comparison of intermediate oncologic outcomes, it fell short of the results produced by laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN).

The study, presented at the 2010 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, showed that renal cryoablation had higher primary treatment failure rates than LPN and did not provide superior renal preservation.

There were 376 patients included in the study, of whom 234 underwent LPN and 142 had renal cryoablation. There were no significant differences among the cohort in terms of gender, ethnicity, and body mass index. Mean tumor size for both groups was 2.5 cm.