LAUSR

Purpose: To compare the therapeutic efficacy and safety of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) with those of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) adjacent to major vessels. Methods: From January 2010 to April 2011, 78 patients with a single nodule, no >5 cm, adjacent to major vessels were enrolled in this study. Forty-four patients (forty-one men, three women; age range, 33–72 years) treated by MWA were compared with thirty-four patients (thirty-one men, three women; age range, 33–75 years) treated by RFA. Local tumor progression rate, overall survival rate, and disease-free survival rate were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and differences between groups were estimated by log-rank test. Results: No death related to treatment occurred in the two groups. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year local tumor progression rates were 6.8%, 11.4%, and 15.9%, respectively, in the microwave group versus 17.6%, 20.6%, and 20.6%, respectively in the radiofrequency group (P = 0.544). The rates of major complications associated with microwave and RFA were 2.3% (1/44) versus 0% (0/34; P = 0.376). The microwave group's 1-, 2-, and 3-year disease-free survival rates were 72.7%, 65.9%, and 51.8%, respectively, and those in the radiofrequency were 58.8%, 52.9%, and 47.1%, respectively (P = 0.471). The microwave group's 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 93.2%, 90.9%, and 83.6%, respectively, and those in the radiofrequency group were 91.2%, 88.2%, and 82.4%, respectively (P = 0.808) There was no significant difference in local tumor progression, complications related to treatment, and long-term results between the two modalities. The incidence of peritumoral structure damage on image scan was significantly higher in the microwave group than in the RFA group (P = 0.025). Conclusions: Both RFA and MWA are safe and effective techniques for HCC adjacent to major vessels and have the same clinical value.