Efficacy and safety of CT-guided microwave ablation for stage T1a renal cell carcinoma in patients with a solitary kidney.

Objective: To retrospectively evaluate early clinical outcomes of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) for stage T1a renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) in solitary kidney patients. Materials and

Methods: 15 solitary kidney patients with 16 stage T1a N0M0 biopsy-proved RCCs underwent CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation between October 2016 and July 2020. The patients were followed up with contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging at 1, 3, and 6 months and every 6 months thereafter. Serum creatinine levels of each patient pre MWA, 1 day after MWA and the most recent record were collected. Technical effectiveness, local recurrence, survival rates and complications were accessed.

Results: Complete ablation was achieved in all 16 tumors (100%) including 13 clear cell carcinomas and 3 papillary carcinomas. Within the follow-up time (median: 24 months) no tumor recurrence or major complication was detected. No significant change in serum creatinine level was noted. The cancer-specific survival rate was 100% (15 of 15), and 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 100%, 93.3%, and 93.3%, respectively.

Conclusion: Percutaneous MWA is an effective and safe treatment option for stage T1a RCCs in solitary kidney patients; it can achieve high complete ablation rate in selected lesions of appropriate size and location.