Microwave ablation versus radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow chart of the search strategy.

Table 1. Characteristics of the studies included.

Study	Arm	Sample size	Recruitment period	Study design	Region	CP (A/B/C)	Tumour size (cm) mean (range)	Number of nodules*	Quality
Ohmoto, 2009 [20]	RFA MWA	34 49	2002–2006	R	Japan	20/11/3 31/14/4	1.6 (0.7–2) 1.7 (0.8–2)	1.08 1.14	H
Lu, 2005 [22]	RFA MWA	53 49	1997–2002	R	China	49/4/0 39/10/0	2.6 (1–6.1) 2.5 (0.9–7.2)	1.35 2	M
Shibata, 2002 [25]	RFA MWA	36 36	1999–2000	RCT	Japan	21/15/0 19/17/0	1.6 (0.7–2) 1.7 (0.8–2)	1.08 1.14	M
Ding, 2013 [26]	RFA MWA	85 113	2006–2010	R	China	49/36/0 75/38/0	2.38 (1–4.8) 2.55 (0.8–5)	1.15 1.15	H
Zhang, 2013 [27]	RFA MWA	78 77	2006	R	China	78/0/0 77/0/0	NA NA	1.24 1.36	H
Abdelaziz, 2014 [28]	RFA MWA	45 66	2009–2013	R	Egypt	24/21/0 25/41/0	2.95 ± 1.03+ 2.9 ± 0.97	1 1	M
Vogl, 2015 [29]	RFA MWA	25 28	2008–2010	R	Germany	NA NA	NA NA	1.28 1.28	M

*Number of nodules per patient.

+Expressed as mean ± standard deviation.

CP, Child-Pugh; H, high; M, moderate; MWA, microwave ablation; R, retrospective; RCT, randomised controlled trial; RFA, radiofrequency ablation.

Figure 2. Forest plot of complete response rate. df, degrees of freedom; M-H, Mantel-Haenszel; MWA, microwave ablation; RFA, radiofrequency ablation.

Figure 3. Forest plot of local recurrence rate. df, degrees of freedom; MWA, microwave ablation; RFA, radiofrequency ablation.

Figure 4. Forest plot of overall survival rate at 3 years. df, degrees of freedom; MWA, Microwave ablation; RFA, Radiofrequency ablation.

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