The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 38,900 people in the United States will develop kidney cancer in 2006. Men are affected nearly twice as often as women.
At UH Ireland Cancer Center, specialists from the Urologic Cancer Care Team offer patients the latest technology in treatment. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of tumors is currently being investigated by University Hospitals of Cleveland radiologists as a treatment for patients with kidney cancer. This treatment combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology with radiofrequency waves to destroy cancerous tumors. The RFA is actually a biopsy (needle-like) probe that is inserted through the skin directly into the lesion. It is heated to temperatures that destroy the harmful tissue. The MRI monitoring component allows the physician to control precisely the tissue to be destroyed while the procedure is taking place and to constantly evaluate the status of the healthy tissue surrounding the lesion. The effect is to eradicate only harmful or diseased tissue while leaving the healthy tissue intact.
Meet the Genito-Urinary Cancers Care Team members: