Partial Nephrectomy
Ruth Smith lives more than 200 miles north of Rochester, Minn., but she knew where she wanted to go when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer — Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic Dr. Michael Blute discusses managing small kidney tumors and treatment options such as kidney sparing surgery. [...]
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Needle-guided tumor destruction procedures offer near equivalent lengths of local cancer control compared to surgery for patients with small kidney cancer tumors, according to the results of a large study published in the journal European Urology. “If validated, these data suggest that an update to clinical guidelines would be warranted,” says the study’s lead author, R. Houston Thompson, M.D., a Mayo Clinic urologist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5C2wnXllMY Dr. Thompson says radical nephrectomy – surgical removal of the entire kidney – has historically been the standard of care for management of kidney cancer; however, partial nephrectomy – surgical removal of tumors from a kidney while sparing healthy tissue –has become increasingly more common because of its nephron-sparing benefits and similar cancer control. The nephron is the part of the kidney that filters out toxins from the blood. “We undertook this study because direct comparisons of outcomes among patients with kidney cancer who have received partial nephrectomy (PN), radiofrequency ablation (RFA) – tumor destruction using intense heat and cryoablation – tumor destruction using extreme cold – are lacking, especially from institutions that routinely perform all three of these procedures,” Dr. Thompson says. Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Thompson are available in the downloads. MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Dangor, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu.