Laparoscopic Cryoablation for Clinical Stage T1 Renal Masses: Long-term Oncologic Outcomes at the Medical College of Wisconsin

ObjectiveTo report the long-term oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic cryoablation for clinical stage T1 renal masses at the Medical College of Wisconsin.Materials and MethodsA retrospective chart review was performed evaluating patients who underwent laparoscopic cryoablation for renal masses at the Medical College of Wisconsin between February 2000 and October 2009.ResultsA total of 171 renal masses in 144 patients were treated by laparoscopic cryoablation during the study period. After excluding patients with <5 years follow-up and those with >clinical stage I disease, 112 renal masses treated in 92 patients remained for analysis. Mean patient age was 59.6 years (standard deviation [SD], 12.5 years). Mean lesion size was 2.3 cm (SD, 0.94 cm). Mean age adjusted Charlson comorbidity index was 4.55 (SD, 1.69). Mean follow-up was 97.9 months (SD, 24.8 months). Overall survival among all patients was 80.9%. Lesions were biopsy proven to be malignant in 70 patients (76.3%). Of those with biopsy-proven malignancy, there were 6 recurrences, 14 non–cancer-related deaths, and 1 cancer-related death, leading to an overall survival of 77.6%, progression-free survival of 91.0%, and cancer-specific survival of 98.5%.ConclusionWe report the largest published series of laparoscopic renal cryoablation with the longest follow-up. Our series indicates that laparoscopic cryoablation is both an efficacious treatment for clinical stage T1 renal masses and provides excellent long-term oncologic outcomes.