Local ablation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. From ethanol injection to radiofrequency ablation.
This article reviews the current status of local ablation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma HCC. In the treatment of HCC, non-surgical treatments play important roles since only 20-30% of patients are candidates for surgery. Still worse, even after curative surgical resection, 80% of patients develop recurrence within 5 years. Among non-surgical treatments, image-guided local ablation therapies have been widely used for cases of small-number and small-size lesions, because they are potentially curative, minimally invasive, and easily repeatable. Although percutaneous ethanol injection has long been a standard therapy, there has been a drastic shift from ethanol injection to radiofrequency ablation in recent years. Randomized controlled trials proved that radiofrequency ablation is superior to ethanol injection in the treatment of HCC from the viewpoint of not only treatment response but also long-term survival. Radiofrequency ablation will play more important roles in the treatment of HCC.
Shiina
Shuichiro
S
Department of Gastroenterology, University of Tokyo 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan. sshiina-tky@umin.ac.jp
Tateishi
Ryosuke
R
Yoshida
Hideo
H
Kanai
Fumihiko
F
Omata
Masao
M
D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
D000431:Ethanol