Microwave ablation shows similar survival outcomes compared with surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma between 3 and 5 cm

Abstract

Background

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a safe and effective locoregional ablation modality, but it is not clear whether the curative effect of MWA as to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is comparable to that of surgical resection (SR). We aimed to compare the outcomes of MWA and SR for patients with HCC ranging from 3 to 5 cm.

Methods

197 patients treated for HCC between 3 and 5 cm by MWA or SR were included from 2010 to 2017. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), complication and hospital stay of those patients were compared by using propensity score matching. The registration number of this clinical trial was ChiCTR2000033983.

Results

For patients with HCC between 3 and 5 cm, the 1-, 3-, and 5- years OS rates were 90.3%, 79.7%, and 65.5% in the MWA group, and 96.7%, 88.6%, and 71%% in the SR group, respectively (p = 0.457). The 1-, 3- and 5- years PFS rates were 63.6%, 36.8% and 32.7% in the MWA group, and 74.2%, 41.9% and 35.5% in the SR group, respectively (p = 0.397). The MWA group showed fewer complications (55% versus 78.8%, p = 0.041) and shorter hospital stays (8 versus 15 days, p < 0.001) compared with the SR group.

Conclusion

MWA showed similar survival outcomes compared with SR for HCCs ranging from 3 to 5 cm. However, it showed favorable results in terms of hospital stay and complication rate compared to SR.

Keywords:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• microwave ablation
• surgical resection
• treatment outcome
• complication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 81570551; 81770607] and Key Research Project of Shandong Province [No. 2016GSF201008].