Percutaneous Microwave Ablation of Category T1a Renal Cell Carcinoma: Intermediate Results on Safety, Technical Feasibility, and Clinical Outcomes of 119 Tumors.

Abstract

<b>OBJECTIVE.</b> The purpose of this study was to assess the safety, technical results, and clinical outcomes of CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation of category T1a renal cell carcinoma. <b>MATERIALS AND METHODS.</b> This retrospective study investigated consecutive patients who underwent CT-guided microwave ablation for T1a renal cell carcinoma from October 2015 to May 2019. Patient demographics including tumor characteristics, comorbidities, technical details, and clinical outcomes were evaluated. Local progression-free survival and overall survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. <b>RESULTS.</b> One hundred-six patients including 70 men (mean age, 68.5 ± 8.9 [SD] years; range, 49-86 years) and 36 women (mean age, 69.5 ± 10.0 years; range, 50-88 years) with an overall mean age of 68.8 ± 9.2 years (range, 49-88 years) with 119 T1a renal cell carcinomas were treated with CT-guided microwave ablation. Technical success was achieved for 100% of the tumors. Complete response was achieved in 101 (95.3%) patients and partial response was achieved in five (4.7%) patients. Local progression-free survival was 100.0%, 92.8%, and 90.6% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Overall survival was 99.0%, 97.7%, and 94.6% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Six patients (5.7%) had seven complications (five with Clavien-Dindo Grade I, Society of Interventional Radiology [SIR] category A, two with Clavien-Dindo Grade III, SIR category B) within 30 days of the procedure. <b>CONCLUSION.</b> CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation is associated with high rates of technical success, excellent local progression-free survival and overall survival, and a low complication rate for category T1a renal cell carcinoma.