title: Radiofrequency ablation and transarterial chemoembolisation as first-line treatment for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma or isolated intrahepatic recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma in transplanted livers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) as a first-line treatment for isolated intrahepatic recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (IIR-HCC) after liver transplantation (LT).
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. Between January 2005 and January 2015, 588 consecutive patients underwent LT for the treatment of HCC. Among them, 27 patients with IIR-HCCs after LT who were treated with RFA (n=6) or TACE (n=21) as a first-line treatment were retrospectively included in this study. Disease-free and overall survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Risk factors affecting these outcomes were assessed with Cox regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Except for the total number of recurrent tumours and time-to-tumour recurrence after LT, baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the groups. The 2-year disease-free survival rates for RFA and TACE (20% versus 14%, respectively; p=0.180) and 4-year overall survival rates (33% versus 25%, respectively; p=0.065) were not significantly different between groups. In addition, the types of treatment were not associated with disease-free or overall survival in multivariate analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TACE may be an effective treatment comparable to RFA in patients with IIR-HCC after LT when RFA is not feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kaienes.kang@samsung.com.
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rhim
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Sinn
authors.affiliation: Biostatics and Clinical Epidemiology Center, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Health Sciences and Technology, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan Univeristy, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: S-H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000401:mortality* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000401:mortality* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome