Thermal ablation of small renal tumors--present status.

Thermal ablation of renal tumors is achieved by the delivery of extreme heat or extreme cold directly to the lesion in order to obtain in situ destruction of the malignant cells without having to remove the entire organ. Cryotherapy and radiofrequency ablation are becoming more and more attractive for the treatment of small lesions in select cases. Other types of energy such as microwave, laser and high intensity ultrasound have also been used to destroy kidney lesions but must still be considered in the experimental stage.

Gene expression profiling of renal cell carcinoma: a DNA macroarray analysis.

Objective: To examine differences in gene expression levels between renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissue and 'normal' appearing renal tissue using a commercially available DNA macroarray.

Materials And Methods: Tissue was obtained from 47 consecutive radical nephrectomies, 29 of which were eligible. DNA macroarrays were analysed on the tumour and normal-appearing control tissue to measure the expression of 1185 cancer-related genes.