Ep. 492 Renal Tumor Ablations: Technique and Advancements with Dr. AJ Gunn

BackTable Vascular & Interventional

Looking to enhance your interventional oncology practice with renal tumor ablation? In this episode, host Dr. Don Garbett is joined by Dr. AJ Gunn to discuss the current landscape of renal tumor ablation and Dr. Gunn’s procedural tips for successful outcomes. Dr. Gunn is an interventional radiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with extensive experience in building service lines, including renal tumor management.

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This podcast is supported by:

RADPAD® Radiation Protection

https://www.radpad.com/

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SYNPOSIS

The doctors review various scoring systems to predict the risks associated with renal ablation. Dr. Gunn emphasizes that tumor size is the most consistent predictor of procedural complications, local recurrence, and metastasis. He also discusses ablation techniques and proactive steps to avoid complications, such as hydrodissection and the selection of appropriate ablation technology. He employs cryoablation for central renal tumors and large tumors to minimize damage to the collecting system, while using microwave ablation for smaller peripheral lesions. Additionally, prior literature and his personal experience suggest that preoperative embolization may be beneficial for larger hypervascular tumors.

Finally, Dr. Gunn speaks about the ongoing Embolization Before Ablation of Renal Cell Carcinoma (EMBARC) study and the importance of sharing knowledge and experiences within the interventional oncology community.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Introduction

04:24 - Practice Building Philosophy

09:29 - Importance of Clinical Follow Up

12:17 - Predictive Factors of Ablation Success

23:30 - Renal Ablation Technique

31:41 - Embolization Before Ablation

44:13 - The Future of Renal Tumor Treatments

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RESOURCES

Percutaneous Cryoablation of Stage T1b Renal Cell Carcinoma: Safety, Technical Results, and Clinical Outcomes (Gunn et al, 2019):

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8983093/

Should Renal Mass Biopsy Be Performed prior to or Concomitantly with Thermal Ablation? (Chung et al, 2018): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30075976/

EMBARC Trial:

https://med.stanford.edu/ir/clinical-trials/embarc.html

Society for Interventional Oncology (SIO) Conference: https://www.sio-central.org/Events/Annual-Scientific-Meeting