Objective
The primary objective of this study was to compare between liver resection (LR) and
radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the management of early hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC). We are trying to provide an update that can be valuable in
clinical practice for determining the most suitable first-line management option for
early HCC.
Patients and methods
The study included 80 patients with earlyHCCaccording to the Barcelona Clinic Liver
Cancer staging system. Patients were divided into two groups: group A included 40
(50%) patients treated through LR, whereas group B included 40 (50%) patients
managedthroughpercutaneousRFA. In this study,weusedthe alternationmethodas
an allocation process in this study.Procedures in both groupswere done according to
conventional principles. Percutaneous RFA technique was done under the guidance
of ultrasonography (US) in complete aseptic conditions. Collected data included
procedure time, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative complications, pain score,
ICU, and the total hospital stay days. After procedures, patientsweremonitored every
three months throughout the follow-up period.
Results
A total of 80 patients with early HCC underwent treatment with LR (N=40) and with
RFA (N=40). There is a significant difference between both groups regarding the
mean time of the procedure: 145±19.8 versus 40.6±7.8 min for LR and RFA,
respectively. Rates of recurrence significantly (P0.05) between LR and RFA groups.
However, the recurrence percentage was slightly higher among patients treated
by RFA compared with LR group.
Conclusion
Our prospective comparative study offers evidence that RFA provides a novel
treatment for early HCC, and it shows survival and tumor relapse rates comparable
to LR.