Background Most HCC patients with decompensation of liver function lost the chance of surgical and/or interventional treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate feasibility and outcome of radiofrequency ablation ...Background Most HCC patients with decompensation of liver function lost the chance of surgical and/or interventional treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate feasibility and outcome of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with poor liver function (Child-Pugh class C), who are not suitable for surgery or hepatic artery chemo-embolization.Methods Thirteen HCC patients (the number of tumors was 17) with liver function of Child-Pugh C (scores: 10.2±0.4)were included in the study. Among the patients, 8 were male and 5 were female with the average age of (61.6±10.9)years old. The average size of HCC was (3.8±1.0) cm. Two patients were recurrent HCC and 30.8% of the patients had multiple tumors (2-3 tumors). All the patients were treated with RFA.Results There were 22 RFA sessions (1-4 sessions per patient) in all, average ablations per tumor at first session was 3.1. One week after RFA, the liver enzymes elevated in 9 patients (69.2%), in 7 of them, the liver enzyme returned to pre-RFA level in 1-3 months. One month after RFA, the Child-Pugh grading was 10.3±0.8 (Child-Pugh C), while that of pre-RFA was 10.2±0.4 (Child-Pugh C), with no significant difference. Computer tomography (CT) one month after RFA showed that the tumor necrosis rate was 88.2% (15/17). Five patients had 2-4 repeated RFA due to HCC recurrence.During the follow-up of 2-69 months in this group, survival rate of one year was 53.8%, two years was 30.8%, and three year was 15.4%. The incidence of RFA-related complications was 13.6% (3/22 sessions), including 1 case of GI hemorrhage and 1 sub-capsular hemorrhage of the liver. One patient with HCC over 5 cm who had fever and liver abscess after RFA, and was dead 2 months later due to liver function failure.Conclusions Minimal invasive RFA provides possible treatment modality for HCC patients with poor liver function, who are not candidates for surgical and/or interventional therapy. For large HCC, due to the required extended treatment region, special attention should be paid to the possibility of acute liver failure.展开更多
文摘Background Most HCC patients with decompensation of liver function lost the chance of surgical and/or interventional treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate feasibility and outcome of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with poor liver function (Child-Pugh class C), who are not suitable for surgery or hepatic artery chemo-embolization.Methods Thirteen HCC patients (the number of tumors was 17) with liver function of Child-Pugh C (scores: 10.2±0.4)were included in the study. Among the patients, 8 were male and 5 were female with the average age of (61.6±10.9)years old. The average size of HCC was (3.8±1.0) cm. Two patients were recurrent HCC and 30.8% of the patients had multiple tumors (2-3 tumors). All the patients were treated with RFA.Results There were 22 RFA sessions (1-4 sessions per patient) in all, average ablations per tumor at first session was 3.1. One week after RFA, the liver enzymes elevated in 9 patients (69.2%), in 7 of them, the liver enzyme returned to pre-RFA level in 1-3 months. One month after RFA, the Child-Pugh grading was 10.3±0.8 (Child-Pugh C), while that of pre-RFA was 10.2±0.4 (Child-Pugh C), with no significant difference. Computer tomography (CT) one month after RFA showed that the tumor necrosis rate was 88.2% (15/17). Five patients had 2-4 repeated RFA due to HCC recurrence.During the follow-up of 2-69 months in this group, survival rate of one year was 53.8%, two years was 30.8%, and three year was 15.4%. The incidence of RFA-related complications was 13.6% (3/22 sessions), including 1 case of GI hemorrhage and 1 sub-capsular hemorrhage of the liver. One patient with HCC over 5 cm who had fever and liver abscess after RFA, and was dead 2 months later due to liver function failure.Conclusions Minimal invasive RFA provides possible treatment modality for HCC patients with poor liver function, who are not candidates for surgical and/or interventional therapy. For large HCC, due to the required extended treatment region, special attention should be paid to the possibility of acute liver failure.