[Application of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in treatment of liver cancer].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the therapeutic efficacy and its influencing factors of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) in the treatment of liver carcinoma.


METHODS
With a temperature-controlled multi-electrode needle, ultrasound-guided PRFA was employed to treat forty-seven patients with 67 tumor nodules, with a diameter of 2.6 +/- 1.1 cm (1.0 - 5.5 cm).


RESULTS
A complete ablation (CA) rate of 80.6% was achieved in the present series, with a CA rate of 91.7% in the tumors < or = 3 cm in diameter, 75.0% in tumors from 3.1 to 4.0 cm, and 14.3% in tumors > 4 cm. The CA rate was significantly greater in tumors with a temperature rising up to 70 degrees C within the initial 2 minutes at ablation as compared with that longer than 2 minutes (P < 0.05). A markedly higher CA rate was obtained in tumors with an ablation-maintaining temperature of over 80 degrees C than that between 70 degrees C and 80 degrees C (P < 0.01). All patients were followed up with a mean time of 11.3 months. The local recurrence rate was 9.3% (5/54), and 1-year survival rate was 82.1%. Eighteen patients (38.3%) had a distant recurrence.


CONCLUSIONS
The tumor size, temperature-rising time and ablation-maintaining temperature represented the important factors affecting the therapeutic efficacy of PRFA.
Xie
Xiao-yan
XY
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510080, China. xxy@gzsums.edu.cn
Lü
Ming-de
MD
Yin
Xiao-yu
XY
Chen
Jun-wei
JW
Shen
Quan
Q
Xu
Hui-xiong
HX
Huang
Pei
P
Huang
Jie-fu
JF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013696:Temperature; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional