ABSTRACT
RF Interstitial Tumor Ablation Procedure 34
Histopathological Features 35
Post-RITA PSA Velocity 37
Treatment Monitoring 38
Future Concepts with RITA 39
Conclusions 41
References 41
Radiofrequency (RF) has been employed to destroy tissue locally in animals as
well as in humans. Safety and efficacy of this approach have been demonstrated
in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, various metastatic tumors to the
liver, osteoid osteomas, and xenografted MXT-tumors in mice (1-4).
Rossi et al. (1) concluded that RF interstitial thermal ablation was effective in
destroying hepatic tumors within a short treatment time. They showed that the
targeted tissue was irreversibly destroyed by coagulative necrosis, with no
evidence of venous thrombosis or significant hemorrhage at the border of the
lesion. The treatment was performed as an outpatient procedure and the compli-
cations observed were minimal (1). RF energy has also been employed
extensively to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia with the transurethral needle
ablation (TUNA) device. Using a transurethral aproach, coagulative necrosis is
produced around the needles inserted into the prostate (5-7).
