Objective: The aims of this study were to compare the clinical outcomes between image-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) and cryoablation (CRA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in high-risk locations and to identify the prognostic factors associated with the two treatment methods.
Methods: This retrospective study was institutional review board approved. A total of 120 patients (88 men and 32 women) with one hundred and thirty-four HCC lesions in high-risk locations from April 2014 to March 2018 were reviewed. Sixty-four patients underwent MWA and 56 patients underwent CRA. Survival, recurrence and complications were compared between the two groups. Effect of changes in key outcomes (i.e., overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and local tumor progression (LTP)) was statistically analyzed with the log rank test. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed on clinicopathological variables to identify factors affecting intermediate-term outcomes.
Results: The OS and RFS after MWA were comparable to those of CRA (P  =0.141, and P =0.469, respectively). The LTP and major complication in MWA group was higher than those in CRA group (P =0.003, and P =0.039). Univariate analysis showed that age (P =0.007), tumor size (P =0.001), and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) grade (P =0.003) were risk factors for OS, and multivariate analysis results showed that older age (≥65 years) (P =0.002, HR:3.338, 95% CI:1.928–5.281), 3.0–5.0 cm in size (P <0.001, HR: 3.312, 95% CI: 1.872–4.489) and CTP grade B (P =0.001, HR:3.382, 95% CI: 1.882–5.902) were independently associated with poor OS.
Conclusion: CRA had comparable oncologic outcomes with MWA and could be a safe and effective treatment for HCC in high-risk locations.
Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, microwave ablation, cryoablation, outcome, high-risk