Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation is superior to hepatic resection in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma

• Published in: World journal of clinical cases 2020-10, Vol.8 (19), p.4380-4387
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yan-Hua, Su, Bo, Sun, Pei, Li, Ru-Meng, Peng, Xiao-Chun, Cai, Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Retrospective Study
• ISSN: 2307-8960; 2307-8960
• DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i19.4380

It is not known whether percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) has the same treatment efficacy and fewer complications than laparoscopic resection in patients with small centrally located hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To compare the effectiveness of PRFA with classical laparoscopic resection in patients with small HCC and document the safety parameters. In this retrospective study, 85 patients treated with hepatic resection (HR) and 90 PRFA-treated patients were enrolled in our hospital from July 2016 to July 2019. Treatment outcomes, including major complications and survival data, were evaluated. The results showed that minor differences existed in the baseline characteristics between the patients in the two groups. PRFA significantly increased cumulative recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio 1.048, 95%CI: 0.265-3.268) and overall survival (hazard ratio 0.126, 95%CI: 0.025-0.973); PRFA had a lower rate of major complications than HR (7.78% 20.0%, < 0.05), and hospital stay was shorter in the PRFA group than in the HR group (7.8 ± 0.2 d 9.5 ± 0.3 d, < 0.001). Based on the data obtained, we conclude that PRFA was superior to HR and may reduce complications and hospital stay in patients with small HCC.