Renal tumor embolization is a minimally invasive procedure that blocks the blood supply to a tumor in the kidney. Blocking the tumor’s blood vessels makes the tumor shrink, controls or stops bleeding, and can make other treatments safer.

Who we most often use it for

• Renal angiomyolipomas (AMLs): benign kidney tumours made of blood vessels, muscle, and fat. AMLs can grow and have fragile vessels that may bleed. We commonly offer embolization for AMLs that are large (often >4 cm) or ones with high-risk features (aneurysms within the tumour).
• Kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) or metastatic tumor deposits: embolization can control bleeding, reduce tumor size, or be done before surgery. For cancer it’s usually part of a larger treatment plan (surgery, medical therapy), and is often used to relieve symptoms rather than cure.

Why it may be recommended

• To stop or prevent sudden bleeding from a tumor
• To shrink a tumor and lower the chance of future bleeds
• To preserve as much healthy kidney as possible compared with removing part of the kidney
• To reduce bleeding risk before surgery or to relieve symptoms from a cancerous tumor