Percutaneous Thermal Ablation for Treatment of T1a Renal Cell Carcinomas

Based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results studies, most renal cancers are low grade and slow growing. Long-term, single-center studies show excellent outcomes of percutaneous thermal ablation for T1a renal cell carcinoma (RCC), comparable to partial nephrectomy without affecting renal function and with much lower rates of complications. However, there are no multicenter randomized controlled trials of multiple ablative modalities or comparison with partial nephrectomy, and most studies are single-arm observational studies with short-term and intermediate follow-up. For treatment of stage T1a RCC, percutaneous TA is an effective alternative to surgery with preservation of renal function, low risk, and comparable overall and disease-specific survival.