Percutaneous Ablation of Renal Masses: A Single-Centre Experience

The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of percutaneous ablation in patients with renal masses. We retrospectively analyzed 49 renal tumor ablations performed at our institute between 2019 and 2024. All patients underwent biopsy followed by computed tomography–guided ablation under general anesthesia. Of the 49 patients, 33 were male and 16 were female, with a mean age of 61 years. Biopsy revealed clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in 34 patients (69.4%) and non-clear cell RCC in 5 patients (10.2%). In 10 patients (20.4%), the biopsy results were inconclusive. The mean tumor size was 2.5 cm. Four patients (8.2%) had tumors larger than 4 cm. Microwave ablation was used in 39 patients (79.6%), radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in 9 patients (18.3%), and 1 patient underwent combined embolization with RFA. The mean follow-up duration was 25 months. Local recurrence occurred in three patients (6.1%), who were subsequently treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy, surgery, or systemic therapy. A complete response was achieved in 46 patients (93.8%). Three patients died within 1 year of follow-up due to non-oncological causes; all had shown a complete response. At the time of the last follow-up, 46 out of 49 patients were alive. Percutaneous ablation using microwave or radiofrequency techniques is a viable alternative to surgery for the treatment of cT1 RCC, with excellent outcomes and a very low cancer-related mortality rate.