Background: We retrospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy of percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) using combined computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US)-guided imaging in patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)-A1-3 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: We included 88 consecutive patients with single HCC who were treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) using our database. The patients were divided into three groups. The combination group received MWA under the guidance of nonenhanced CT and US, CT group received MWA under the guidance of nonenhanced CT alone and US group received MWA under the guidance of US alone. The study endpoints included the treatment time, number of puncture, local recurrence rate, and adverse events.
Results: The median treatment time and mean puncture number were 38.6 (30-45) min, 1.2 (1-2) times (combination group); 45.8 (35-56) min, 4.2 (3-7) times (CT group); and 36.7 (30-47) min, 1.1 (1-2) times (US group), respectively. The median puncture number was significantly less than in the CT group. The local recurrence rate in the combination group was significantly inferior to that in the US group. There was a statistically significant difference between the combination group and CT group in Grade C complication rate.
Conclusions: Combining CT-and US-guide MWA in patients with BCLC-A1-3 HCC appeared to be much better than the use of guidance of CT or US alone.
Keywords: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stage A; computed tomography; hepatocellular carcinoma; microwave ablation; ultrasound.