How does cryotherapy compare to other kidney cancer treatments?
The traditional treatment for renal cancer is radical nephrectomy. As mid- to long- term results of studies involving nephron-sparing minimally invasive procedures for the treatment of renal cancer become available, evidence is mounting that partial nephrectomy and cryosurgical ablation are equally effective in terms of survival rates in selected patients. A partial nephrectomy (removal of the portion of the kidney containing the tumor) can be performed through an open surgical incision, or laparoscopically, using 3-4 small incisions. It is called “nephron-sparing” surgery because some of the kidneys blood filtering nephrons are “spared” and continue to function normally after the surgery. Renal cryoablation freezes the cancer with very thin cryoablation needles that are placed into the tumor. Argon gas is delivered under pressure into a small chamber inside the tip of the needle where it expands and cools. This produces an iceball of predictable size and shape around the needle. This
