# Correlation of mRENAL score with clinical outcomes after CT-guided renal cell carcinoma cryoablation: A retrospective observational study

## TL;DR

This study shows that the mRENAL score can predict better outcomes after a minimally invasive treatment for kidney cancer called cryoablation.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates for the first time that the mRENAL score correlates with clinical success in cryoablation for renal cell carcinoma.

## Key findings

- Lower mRENAL scores were associated with higher clinical success rates after cryoablation.
- An increase in mRENAL score was linked to a higher risk of cancer recurrence.
- Technical success was achieved in all 53 cryoablation procedures studied.

## Abstract

CT-guided cryoablation (CRA) has emerged as a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), though outcomes can vary. The mRENAL score may help to predict clinical outcomes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between mRENAL score and clinical outcomes in RCC cases treated by CT-CRA.

This was an observational, retrospective, single-center study that included CT-CRA procedures performed on RCCs between 2017 and 2023. Tumors were classified into three categories based on the mRENAL score: low, intermediate, and high risk. We employed the Firth logistic regression for multivariate analysis due to the small sample size and rare outcome events.

Our data included 53 cases, with a mean age of 53 ± 12 years. Technical success was achieved in all cases. Four cases had disease recurrence at the site of previously treated RCC (4/42, 9.5%), as 11 cases lost follow-up imaging. The Firth logistic regression analysis revealed that increasing mRENAL score was associated with a higher risk of recurrence (adjusted odds ratio = 0.42 [95% CI, 0.19–0.95]; P = 0.038). This trend towards statistical significance implies that for every 1-point increase in mRENAL score, the odds of clinical success decrease by at least 5% with over 95% confidence. No procedure-related mortality was observed.

Our analysis demonstrates that the mRENAL score may help predict clinical outcomes, with lower mRENAL scores associated with higher clinical success rates following CT-CRA of RCC.