Yonsei Med J.  2008 Dec;49(6):1046-1051. 10.3349/ymj.2008.49.6.1046.

Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatic Metastasis from Gastric Adenocarcinoma

• An JY
• Kim JY
• Choi MG
• Noh JH
• Choi D
• Sohn TS
• Kim S

• KMID: 1782957
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2008.49.6.1046

Abstract

The prognosis for gastric cancer with liver metastasis continues to be poor. We present our preliminary findings from 4 cases of liver metastasis from gastric adenocarcinomas treated using radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Between 1995 and 2004, the clinical history and course of 4 patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation for liver metastases from gastric cancer were reviewed. Two patients with smaller metachronous metastasis are currently alive without recurrence at 16 and 14 months and the other patients with larger synchronous metastatic lesions died after 4 and 12 months after RFA. Although this study was limited to a few cases and had a short follow-up duration, our findings suggest that RFA may provide an alternative treatment modality for liver metastasis resulting from gastric adenocarcinoma. Additional study is needed with a larger group of patients and longer follow up to evaluate the efficacy of RFA.

Keyword

Liver; metastasis; stomach; neoplasms; radiofrequency ablation

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma/radiography/*secondary/*therapy
Adult
Aged
Catheter Ablation/*methods
Humans
Liver Neoplasms/radiography/*secondary/*therapy
Male
Middle Aged
*Stomach Neoplasms
Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Case 1: Radiofrequency ablation of a hepatic metastasis from gastric cancer. (A) Preprocedural CT scan revealing a 1.7 cm sized liver metastasis in segment III. (B) CT scan 2 months after RFA showing complete tumor ablation.

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  Fig. 2 Case 2: Radiofrequency ablation of hepatic metastases from gastric cancer. (A-1) Preprocedural CT scan showing a 2.4 cm sized hepatic mass in segment IV. (A-2) Preprocedural CT scan showing a 2.3 cm sized hepatic mass in segment VI. (B-1 and B-2) CT scans one month after RFA. Both metastatic lesions in segments IV and VI were completely ablated.

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  Fig. 3 Case 3: Radiofrequency ablation of a hepatic metastasis from gastric cancer. (A) Preprocedural computed tomography (CT) scan revealing a 6.2 cm sized hepatic metastasis in segment VIII. (B) CT scan obtained one month after RFA of tumor. The hepatic metastasis is larger and shows heterogeneous enhancement.

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  Fig. 4 Case 4: Radiofrequency ablation of a hepatic metastasis from gastric cancer. (A) Preprocedural CT scan displaying a 4 cm sized hepatic metastasis in segment VII. (B) CT scan one month after RFA. A hypodense lesion without contrast enhancement covers the site of metastasis. (C) CT scan obtained after four months after RFA showing slight enhancement on the margin of the tumor and multiple hepatic metastases.

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