Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Kidney Cancer Subtyping and Staging

Inclusion Criteria

• A suspected diagnosis of kidney cancer with a solid or partially solid lesion and planned surgical nephrectomy within 3 months before surgery
• Able to provide informed consent
• Willing to comply with protocol requirements
• At least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria

• Critically ill or medically unstable or in an intensive care setting and whose critical course during a potential observation period would be unpredictable
• Known hypersensitivity to sulfur hexafluoride or to any component of perflutren lipid (Definity®) or sulfur hexafluoride (Lumason®)
• Right to left shunt, severe pulmonary hypertension (Pulmonary artery pressure >90mmHg), or adult respiratory distress syndrome
• Has any other medical condition or other circumstances that would significantly decrease the chances of obtaining reliable data or of achieving the study objectives
• Unstable cardiopulmonary disease including any of the following:
• Severe congestive heart failure (class IV in accordance with the classification of the New York Heart Association)
• Unstable angina
• Symptomatic arrhythmia (i.e. tachycardia, bradycardia, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter or fibrillation)
• Myocardial infarction within 14 days prior to the date of proposed microbubble administration.
• Any woman who is pregnant or has reason to believe she is pregnant (the possibility of pregnancy has to be excluded by negative urine β-HCG results, obtained the same day as the CEUS, or on the basis of patient history, e.g.: tubal ligation, hysterectomy or a minimum of 1 year without menses)
• Obesity that limits obtainment of acceptable images