Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology
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Scand. J. Gastroenterol. · May 2015
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyRadiofrequency ablation versus resection for the treatment of early stage hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter Australian study.
It remains unclear whether radiofrequency ablation (RFA) provides comparable outcomes to surgical resection (SR). We, therefore, compared survival outcomes of RFA to SR in patients with early stage and very early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). ⋯ While SR is superior to RFA for the management of early stage BCLC A disease with ≤5 cm HCC, both appear effective as first-line treatment options for Western patients with small ≤3 cm tumors. Although safer than SR, RFA is associated with higher rates of tumor recurrence and local disease progression. Further prospective randomized controlled trials are warranted to compare these two modalities.