Long-term results of cryoablation for renal cancer and complex renal masses

The purpose of this article is to review our experience with 5-year clinical follow-up after cryosurgical ablation of renal neoplasms. A retrospective review of a de-identified database was undertaken to retrieve information on patients with >= 36 months' follow-up. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, radiologic follow-up, and disease-free and overall survival data were evaluated. A total of 48 patients, with a median follow-up of 64 months (range, 36-110 months) and an overall survival rate of 89.5% were identified. Median lesion size was 2.6 cm (range, 1.1-4.6 cm). A total of 12.5% patients were diagnosed with persistent disease during the follow-up period. The cancer-specific survival rate was 100%, and the cancer-free survival rate after a single cryoablation procedure was 87.5%. This improved to 97.5% after a repeat procedure. No major complications were observed. Our data suggest that cryosurgical ablation of renal neoplasms can lead to acceptable long-term disease-free survival. Careful radiologic follow-up strategies are crucial in monitoring treatment success and identifying those who may require a secondary salvage procedure.