Trial Of Tech To Freeze Kidney Tumors Shows It Is ‘Safe And Effective’

IceCure Medical, an Israeli company that developed a way to freeze and destroy tumors (cryoablation) as alternative to surgery, says an interim analysis of its current kidney cancer trial shows the platform is a safe and effective treatment for malignant renal tumors, with 89.5 percent recurrence-free rate.

The data from the analysis for the trial of the ProSense platform was presented at the Annual Israeli Conference on Interventional Radiology in Tel Aviv on June 10.

Cryoablation is not a new process, but IceCure’s system allows physicians to perform the procedure at their own office, with no need for hospitalization. It also uses liquid nitrogen instead of a mixture of argon and helium gasses, which is cheaper, can be frozen faster, and is easier to maintain at sub-zero temperatures, shortening the treatment time.

“Cryoablation is a safe and effective, minimally invasive ablative approach for treating renal cell carcinoma presenting with tumors ≤3 centimeters, resulting in shorter hospitalization than nephrectomy and minor side effects on the renal function and on hemoglobin levels. Further studies are needed to confirm cryoablation as a viable option to treat kidney lesions,” said Prof. Sarel Halachmi, the principal investigator of the clinical trial.

“The data was very well received by interventional radiologists attending the conference from around the world and locally here in Israel,” said IceCure CEO Eyal Shamir.

“We are pleased to advance ProSense’s applications across numerous indications. Kidney cancer is an indication in which our minimally invasive cryoablation system may offer significant benefits.”

ProSense currently has regulatory approval in 15 countries, including the United States and China.