IceCure Medical has today announced interim results from the company’s Icesecret study of cryoablation for patients with small renal masses who cannot be offered kidney preserving surgery. Data were presented on at the Israeli Urological Association conference (2–5 December, 2024, Eilat, Israel). These data were delivered by Keren Boguslavsky (Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel).
Results were reported at a mean follow-up period of 36 months for 111 patients with 117 lesions. Boguslavsky reported that, in 91 patients (approximately 82%), no tumour recurrence was observed. Following an additional cryoablation procedure for the same tumour in 13 patients, the success rate for the overall population was 83.8%, with a mean follow-up time of 39.6 months. In patients without a history of kidney cancer with one tumour <3cm, the success rate was 88.7%.
Freezing of the renal tumour—with a safety margin of 0.5cm—was achieved in 95.6% of the procedures demonstrating high efficacy in cases without anatomic limitation for ice ball creation.
Four procedure-related serious adverse events were reported, three of which were mild and treated conservatively. One severe complication was observed seven months after the cryoablation procedure. Renal function was preserved on an average basis across the patient cohort, with no significant change in creatinine and haemoglobin levels compared to baseline, the authors have stated.
The procedure time, relative to the standard of care as supported by and documented in medical literature, was approximately 25 minutes.
“The ability to offer cryoablation for kidney cancer is a large unmet need, particularly in patients who are ineligible for kidney preserving surgery. We are very pleased that Icesecret’s latest interim results present ProSense as a safe and effective option for these patients. These results are particularly important since ProSense is already approved for the as a cryosurgical tool in the destruction of malignant and benign tumours of the kidney in key markets including the USA and Europe,” stated IceCure’s chief executive officer, Eyal Shamir.
In a recent press release the company state that, according to the American Journal of Roentgenology, small renal masses, which may be malignant or benign tumours in the kidney, have been increasing in incidence over the past two decades. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2024, in the USA, an estimated 81,610 new cases of kidney cancer will have been diagnosed, with approximately 14,390 dying from the disease. Globally, there were more than 434,000 new cases of kidney cancer in 2022 and about 156,000 deaths according to World Cancer Research Fund International.
