Recurrence and Relatedc Factors after Radiofrequency Ablation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Ahn, Byeong Hoon; Choi, Moon Seok; Lee, Jun Haeng; Lim, Yun Jeong; Hong, Il Chol; Choe, Won Hyeok; Lee, Joon Hyoek; Koh, Kwang Cheol; Paik, Seung Woon; Rhee, Poong Lyul; Kim, Jae J; Rhee, Jong Chul; Choi, Kyoo Wan; Lim, Hyo Keun; Choi, Dong Il

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There were few reports about the recurrence and related factors after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We assessed the recurrence rate and its related factors after RFA in patients with HCC.
METHODS
Thirty-nine patients (32 males and 7 females) with unresectable HCC were treated with percutaneous ultrasono-guided RFA. They had solitary tumor RESULTS
The complete necrosis rate was 91.4% with few significant complications. Local and remote recurrence of HCC were observed in 30.7% and 66% of the patients during follow-up period of median 17 months. One-year local recurrence rate was lower in tumor smaller than 2.5 cm than in tumor bigger than 2.5 cm (5.6% vs. 28.5%, p=0.01). It was also lower in single tumor than in multiple tumor (12% vs. 60%, p=0.04). One-year remote recurrence rate was lower in Child A than in Child B (43.4% vs. 66.7%, p=0.04).
CONCLUSIONS
RFA results in a high rate of complete necrosis with few significant complications in unresectable HCC. The local recurrence was fewer in small, single tumor and the remote recurrence was fewer in patients with Child A.