Clinical study on patients with renal-cell carcinoma accompanied with Von Hippel-Lindau disease treated with radiofrequency ablation]

We report 12 renal cell carcinomas in 6 patients with Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA). The mean age of the patients was 46 (range 38-53) years (male : 4, female : 2). Computed tomography (CT)-guided transcutaneous RFA was performed under conscious sedation with local anesthetics. The mean size of the tumors was 2.4 (range 0.7-8.1) cm. Nine of the 12 tumors (75%) were locally well controlled. However, 3 tumors in 2 patients developed visceral metastases after RFA. While minimal flank pain, nausea, perinephritic hematoma and lumbago were observed, there was no major complication during or after the procedure. The therapy with CT-guided transcutaneous RFA is efficient and minimal invasive for renal cell carcinoma in patients with VHL, leading to preservation of renal function.