Cardiovascular and interventional radiology
March 17, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Percutaneous Cryoablation of Clinical T1b Renal Tumors: A Tertiary Cancer Center Experience.
Abdelsalam ME, Awad A, Kang F, +9 more, Ahrar K.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Percutaneous cryoablation of clinical T1b renal tumors in non-surgical candidates achieved durable local control, with 4% local recurrence and 87% 5-year local recurrence-free survival in biopsy-proven RCC.
What was studied
Retrospective single-center cohort of 51 patients with 4.1-7 cm renal tumors treated with cryoablation, with or without prior embolization (2008-2024).
Key findings
- 52 cryoablations; median tumor diameter 4.5 cm; 82% biopsy-proven RCC
- 28 patients had combined embolization and cryoablation
- Local recurrence in 2 patients (4%) at 30 and 41.5 months
- In 27 de novo RCC patients: median OS 6.1 years; 5-year local recurrence-free 87%, disease-free 83%, metastasis-free 96%
Clinical relevance
This supports cryoablation as an option for T1b renal tumors in patients who are not surgical candidates, though the small retrospective cohort with competing comorbidities limits comparison with surgery.
Who should care
Limitations
Small retrospective single-center cohort, high rate of concomitant malignancy and no surgical comparison.
Cryoablation offers durable local control for larger (T1b) kidney cancers in patients unfit for surgery.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the oncologic and survival outcomes of patients who underwent cryoablation (CA) for T1b renal masses.
Materials and methods
This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in accordance with the STROBE guidelines. All patients with renal tumors from 4.1 cm to 7 cm in our renal ablation registry who underwent CA between January 2008, and June 2024 were included in our study. We excluded patients with renal tumors < 4 cm and patients who underwent microwave or Radiofrequency ablation, for T1b lesions. We compiled data on age, sex, tumor location and size, histopathology, procedure-related variables, and outcomes. The Kaplan-Meier methodology was used to estimate survival probabilities.
Results
Fifty-one patients underwent 52 CA for 51 renal tumors. Overall, 39% of patients had a concomitant non-renal malignancy. The median tumor diameter was 4.5 cm. The median RENAL nephrometry score was 5. Most tumors (82%) were proven to be RCC by biopsy. Twenty-three patients underwent only cryoablation and 28 underwent a combination of embolization and cryoablation. Two patients (4%) experienced recurrence at the ablation site (30 months and 41.5 months after the ablation). Among the 27 patients with de novo histologically proven renal cell carcinoma included in the survival analysis, the median overall survival duration was 6.1 years, and the 5-year Local recurrence, disease and metastatic free survival rates were 87%, 83%, and 96%, respectively.
Conclusion
CA (with and without embolization) is safe and effective in patients with clinical T1b RCC who are not candidates for surgery. Cryoablation offers durable local oncologic control and favorable long-term survival outcomes in appropriately selected patients.
DOI
10.1007/s00270-026-04381-y
PMID
41845108
PMCID
PMC13597649
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
Want more like this?
Browse more from the feed. A free account unlocks the full feed, saving and communities.
Back to the research feed