Retrospective Study
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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2014; 20(35): 12588-12594
Published online Sep 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i35.12588
Short-term interval combined chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma
Won Hyeok Choe, Young Jun Kim, Hee Sun Park, Sang Woo Park, Jeong Han Kim, So Young Kwon
Won Hyeok Choe, Jeong Han Kim, So Young Kwon, Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul 143-729, South Korea
Young Jun Kim, Hee Sun Park, Sang Woo Park, Department of Radiology, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul 143-729, South Korea
Author contributions: Choe WH analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Kim YJ designed and performed the study and edited the manuscript in addition to providing financial support for this work; Park HS and Park SW provided analytical tools and were also involved in editing the manuscript; Kim JH and Kwon SY coordinated and collected the data and also supervised the entire research project.
Supported by Konkuk University Medical Center Research Grant 2011
Correspondence to: Young Jun Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Konkuk University Medical Center, 120-1 Neungdong-ro, Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-729, South Korea. yjkim@kuh.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-2-20305494 Fax: +82-2-20305549
Received: April 2, 2014
Revised: May 10, 2014
Accepted: June 12, 2014
Published online: September 21, 2014
Processing time: 169 Days and 20.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: This study investigated whether an interval of 0-2 d for combined transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is acceptable for recovery of liver functional reserve in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) < 5 cm. Of 94 enrolled patients, 89 (94.7%) did not show changes in their Child-Pugh scores (CPs) after treatment. Only 5 patients experienced a transient rise of CPs by one-point and their CPs was restored to the baseline within 3 mo after treatment. Therefore, we suggest that the combined TACE and RFA using a short-term interval are safe for treating HCC < 5 cm in cirrhotic patients.