Introduction: The management of recurrent and residual RCC after prior treatment is challenging. The most common treatment strategy includes radical or partial nephrectomy.
Purpose: To describe percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) as a treatment modality for recurrent and residual RCC.
Material and methods: Between April 2012 and August 2016 PRFA was performed in 14 (11 males and 3 females) patients with recurrent or residual RCC. The average age was 59 years (range: 42-76).
Results: Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation was performed in 5 patients with recurrent disease after nephron sparing surgery and in 3 patients with residual disease (2 after PRFA and 1 after nephron sparing surgery). 4 additional patients underwent the procedure for metachronous tumors in the contralateral kidney (2 in a single kidney after radical contralateral nephrectomy and 2 after partial nephrectomy). In 2 patients with recurrence after partial nephrectomy, PRFA was not carried out due to colonic adhesions and proximity of the ureter to the lesion, which were not amenable to separation with Hydro-dissection. One patient underwent partial nephrectomy and the second laparoscopic cryo-ablation. There were no complications in all PRFA patients. During a follow-up period of 7-63 months (average 29) no recurrence has been detected.
Conclusions: Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation appears to be an effective treatment for patients with recurrent or residual RCC and should be included in the treatment arsenal of this challenging situation.
