Can radiofrequency ablation control adrenal tumors?

This study looked at whether a treatment known as radiofrequency ablation is useful in treating cancer which has spread to a patient’s adrenal glands.
 

The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys and make several hormones for the body.

Chemotherapy or radiotherapy are often used to treat cases where cancer has spread to the adrenal glands. Surgery would be a better option, but this cancer is often unresectable. This means traditional surgery would not effectively remove it.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a treatment that uses electrical energy and heat to destroy cancer cells. RFA has been used to treat adrenal tumors effectively in the short-term. It is not clear whether RFA effectively improves survival.

This study examined the long-term outcomes of patients who recieved RFA for adrenal tumors.

38 patients were included in this study, with 35 patients receiving RFA. The original site of cancer was different in many cases with lung, colorectal, kidney, liver and other patients with other tumors included in the study.

The majority of patients in the study had received chemotherapy before their RFA. CT scans (a type of x-ray) were performed both before and after receiving RFA treatment to monitor the tumors. Patients were followed for an average of 30 months.

Tumor size was reduced in 94% of patients following treatment.

Adrenal tumors were controlled in 77% of patients following RFA. 23% of patients experienced disease progression.

Overall one-year survival rates were 75% following RFA. Five-year survival rates were 30%. Patients over the age of 65 were 3 times less likely to survive for the duration of the trial. Average survival time for patients with colorectal cancer was 26.2 months.

Minor complications, such as kidney damage, were seen during 44% of treatment sessions.

This study concluded that radiofrequency ablation is a useful treatment for controlling cancer which has spread to the adrenal glands. As well as having few complications, the treatment improved survival rates for patients.

This study had a small number of patients and did not include a comparison group of patients. This study should be repeated with a larger number of patients, spread across several different hospitals.

Discuss with your doctor whether RFA is a treatment option for you.