EMORY PHYSICIAN SEES CRYOSURGERY AS GROWING ALTERNATIVE FOR DESTROYING KIDNEY CANCER

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EMORY PHYSICIAN SEES CRYOSURGERY AS GROWING ALTERNATIVE FOR DESTROYING KIDNEY CANCER
27 March 2004 - Emory University

Emory urologists are using a new surgical technique, crysosurgery, or the application of extreme cold to kill cancerous tissue, in the treatment of kidney cancer. The procedure was used at the Emory Clinic for the first time, but the physicians predict that several more procedures will be performed there in the next several months.

Cryosurgery shows promising results with minimal pain and bleeding, shorter recovery period, and less expensive costs than traditional approaches, says John Pattaras, M.D., assistant professor of urology.

"It is a kidney sparing alternative method that is still investigational, but it spares the patient major surgery," says Dr. Pattaras, director of the division of Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery. "It is justified in older patients with small tumors and other medical problems. Moreover, older patients have less functioning kidney tissue and are at more risk for peri-operative complications."

Younger patients with minimal medical problems would best benefit from a partial nephrectomy, removal of part of the kidney, Dr. Pattaras says. During the kidney ablation surgery, a laparoscope inserted through a quarter-inch incision into the abdomen lets the physician view the organs inside of the abdomen. The physician also uses an ultrasound device to locate the tumor and to help guide the cryoprobe.

The cryoprobe, containing liquid nitrogen, is inserted through a small 1/8- inch incision into the center of the tumor after a biopsy has been taken. Nitrous oxide then circulates through the instrument and causes the tip to drop to a temperature of approximately, 90¼ to –100¼ Celsius. The entire tumor is frozen, allowed to thaw, then refrozen a second time. The freezing cycle is completed within 15-20 minutes and the tumor is destroyed within the two hours of the entire procedure.

"The procedure freezes the cancer cells and directly kills them," says Dr. Pattaras. "It also indirectly freezes the blood supply surrounding the tumor, thereby starving the tumor even if some cells survive. Kidney cells will not regenerate, so only scar tissue remains."

Cryosurgery patients are admitted for overnight observation and discharged the next morning. Normally, patients with open surgery procedures are released in seven to ten days.

Currently there are not outcome measures that compare the rate of survivorship or prevention of metastasis from cryosurgery to those of traditional procedures. Use of the procedure is too recent and there is not five-year follow up data, Pattaras explains.

Cryosurgery has traditionally been used on external tumors, such as skin cancers and for retinoblastoma (childhood cancer of the retina). It is also a favorable option because it minimizes pain and bleeding, avoids the destruction of surrounding healthy tissue and is less expensive than traditional methods, Pattaras says.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 31,800 new cases of kidney cancers in 2002 and 11,600 deaths. Kidney cancer is the eighth most common cancer in men and the tenth most common cancer in women.

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Emory was founded at Oxford by the Methodist Church in 1836. Led by President James W. Wagner, an award-winning teacher and scholar, the University has 11,300 students and 2,500 faculty members who represent all regions of the United States and more than 100 foreign nations.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system.

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