Clinical Outcomes of Intraoperative Radiofrequency Abla- tion in Hepatocelluar Carcinoma Patients Ineligible for Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation or Surgical Resection = Clinical Outcomes of Intraoperative Radiofrequency Abla- tion in Hepatocelluar Carcinoma Patients Ineligible for Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation or Surgical Resection

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Aims: Intraoperative radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is one of the treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with relatively poor liver function to undergo surgical resection or when percutaneous approach for RFA is not feasible due to the difficult location of the tumor. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical outcomes of intraoperative RFA compared to surgical resection. Methods: A total of 76 consecutive patients who received either intraoperative RFA (n=23) or surgical resection (n=53) with curative intent at the Incheon St Mary``s hospital from June 2012 to September 2015 were enrolled. Disease free survival and overall survival rates were analyzed. Results: The median follow-up period was 20.1 months (range, 0.9-41.5). The mean baseline Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was higher in the RFA group compared to the resection group (11.5±4.7 vs. 7.8±1.5, p=0.001). The resection group consisted of larger tumors with the median diameter of 2.7cm (range, 1-16) compared to 2cm (range, 1-5) of the RFA group (p=0.002). However, there was no difference in the number of tumors and the tumor stage between the two groups. The disease free survival rates at 6 and 12 months were 81.6%, 74.8% in the RFA group and 92.2%, 86.2% in the resection group, respectively (p=0.256). The overall survival rates at one year were 91.3% in the RFA group and 94.3% in the resection group, respectively (p=0.635). In the RFA group, 5 patients (21.7%) received liver transplantation (LT) after median interval of 10.9 months (range, 9.2~26.4) since the intraoperative RFA. Conclusions: The patients who received intraoperative RFA presented with relatively poor liver function but the disease free survival and overall survival rates were non-inferior compared to the patients who underwent resection. Therefore, intraoperative RFA may be considered as a useful option for patients ineligible to percutaneous RFA and surgical resection, or as a bridge therapy before liver transplantation.