Palliative transarterial embolization of renal tumors in 20 patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate immediate technical and clinical results of palliative transarterial renal embolization in patients with symptomatic renal tumors.

Methods: Parenchymal embolization of 20 renal tumors was performed in 20 symptomatic patients with hematuria and/or lumbar pain and/or para-neoplastic syndrome. Seven patients were inoperable because of poor general condition, and 15 patients had metastatic lesions.

Results: Immediate technical success was observed, with post-infarction pain in all patients requiring analgesia in 12 cases (which was successful in 90%); 8 patients had transitory fever. With a median follow up of 8.1 (range 4-27) months, recurrent hematuria was noted in two patients for which partial embolization was initially chosen; pain did not recur in any patients.

Conclusions: Palliative embolization of advanced symptomatic renal tumors is easy to accomplish with low morbidity. It helps to alleviate invalidating symptoms in a multidisciplinary management of advanced renal tumors.