Cryoablation for kidney cancer
Cryoablation is not well supported by the medical literature for renal cell cancer. There are mostly case reports and series, although some of them are large and there are no comparative trials. The procedure has some theoretical disadvantages. For one, it leaves no pathology, so that prognostication becomes difficult. Other limitations of percutaneous cryoablation include the inability to control hemorrhage without intra-arterial access and a lack of long-term follow-up data. Perioperative complications and renal functional outcomes of laparoscopic cryoablation and open partial nephrectomy are similar; however, laparoscopic cryoablation confers a substantially higher local recurrence risk of about 15% after 3 years. There are no formal guidelines but some experts believe that laparoscopic renal cryoablation should be reserved for high risk patients with decreased life expectancy.
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