BACKGROUND & AIM:
Multiple discussions have been aroused regarding which approach is the most suitable for treating early-stage HCCs: Surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) or microwave ablation (MWA).
The purpose of this study was to test the null hypothesis: "The effect of LR, RFA and MWA do not differ from each other as current modalities for early hepatocellular carcinoma < 5cm".
METHODS:
This prospective study enrolled 45 patients diagnosed with early HCC. Patients had the criteria of: (Solitary lesions, tumor size < 5 cm, Class of Child-Pugh: A/ B only). Patients were sub-divided into equally three groups: (15) patients underwent liver resection. (15) patients subjected to RFA , and (15) patients treated with MWA from April 2016, to March 2019.
Results:
Our results showed that three modalities(LR, RFA and MWA) did not differ significantly regarding the overall survival (OS) rates for tumors< 5cm(P= 0.3). However, significant difference was found between the three groups (LR, RFA and MWA) regarding rate of overall complications (P= 0.001). Regarding rate of minor complications, there was a significant difference between LR, RFA and MWA by (26.67%., 93.3%, 86.7%) respectively with (P= 0.001). Rate of major complications differed significantly between the three groups (P=0.01) as follows: (LR, RFA and MWA) by (26%, 0 % and 0 %) respectively.
Conclusion:
RFA and MWA are equal to be an effective alternative to liver resection (LR) patients as a primary therapy for early-stage HCCs measuring as large as