Percutaneous microwave and radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective comparative study.
BACKGROUND
Percutaneous microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation are two commonly used modalities for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma; however, comparisons of them have not been documented adequately.


METHODS
Of 102 patients with biopsy-proved hepatocellular carcinoma, 49 (98 nodules) were treated percutaneously with microwave ablation and 53 (72 nodules) with radiofrequency ablation. The local tumor control, complications related to treatment, and long-term results of the two modalities were compared retrospectively.


RESULTS
The complete ablation rates were 94.9% (93/98) using microwave ablation vs 93.1% (67/72) using radiofrequency ablation (P = 0.75), and no significant differences were found either in the ablation of tumors of 3.0 cm or less (P = 1.00) or in those of more than 3.0 cm (P = 1.00) between the two modalities. The local recurrence rates were 11.8% (11/93) using microwave ablation vs 20.9% (14/67) using radiofrequency ablation (P = 0.12), and there were no significant differences between the two modalities either in tumors of 3.0 cm or less (P = 0.36) or in those of more than 3.0 cm (P = 0.82). The rates of major complications associated with microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation were 8.2% (4/49) vs 5.7% (3/53; P = 0.71). The disease-free survival rates in the microwave ablation group were 45.9%, 26.9%, 26.9%, and 13.4% at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively, and those in the radiofrequency ablation group were 37.2%, 20.7%, and 15.5% at 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively (P = 0.53). The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-year cumulative survival rates for patients who underwent microwave ablation were 81.6%, 61.2%, 50.5%, and 36.8%, respectively, and for patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation the rates were 71.7%, 47.2%, 37.6%, and 24.2%, respectively (P = 0.12).


CONCLUSIONS
Percutaneous microwave ablation and radiofrequency ablation are both effective methods in treating hepatocellular carcinomas. The local tumor control, complications related to treatment, and long-term survivals were equivalent for the two modalities.
Lu
Ming-De
MD
Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China.
Xu
Hui-Xiong
HX
Xie
Xiao-Yan
XY
Yin
Xiao-Yu
XY
Chen
Jun-Wei
JW
Kuang
Ming
M
Xu
Zuo-Feng
ZF
Liu
Guang-Jian
GJ
Zheng
Yan-Lin
YL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008872:Microwaves / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D015996:Survival Rate