Renal vein ethanol concentration during ablation of renal cell carcinoma

Absolute ethanol is an effective embolizing material for the ablation of renal cell carcinoma with a balloon catheter. We have measured the renal vein ethanol concentration during embolization in 9 patients in order to determine whether toxic levels are achieved. Total occlusion of the embolized arteries was obtained using an average of 12.9 ml (range 8-18) ethanol. Renal vein ethanol concentration varied from trace amounts to 0.79%. There was a significant correlation of the maximum renal vein concentration with the ethanol dose per tumor size. The authors conclude that the renal vein ethanol concentration remains sufficiently low to be harmless when a proper balloon occlusion is used. The optimum ethanol dose may be a function of tumor size.