Radiofrequency ablation combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for recurrent liver cancer

Table 1 Comparison of general data of two groups of patients

Index	TACE + RFA group (n = 45)	RFA group (n = 45)	χ2/t	P value
Age (years)	57.9 ± 8.3	60.1 ± 9.6	1.163	0.248
Sex			0.067	0.796
Male	35	36
Female	10	9
Recurrence time (months)	1.9 ± 0.8	1.7 ± 0.6	1.342	0.183
Tumor diameter (cm)			0.179	0.673
≤ 3	23	25
> 3	22	20
Number of lesions			0.180	0.671
Single	26	24
Multiple	19	21
Hepatitis B surface antigen			0.620	0.431
Positive	43	40
Negative	2	5
Child–Pugh class			0.189	0.664
A	18	16
B	27	29
AFP (ng/mL)			0.053	0.818
≤ 400	31	32
> 400	14	13
Complications (n)			0.228	0.893
Diabetes	13	11
Hypertension	15	16
No	17	18

TACE: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein.

Table 2 Comparison of efficacy between two groups, n (%)

Index	TACE + RFA group (n = 45)	RFA group (n = 45)	χ2	P value
CR	15	9
PR	22	21
SD	5	7
PD	3	8
ORR	37 (82.22)	30 (66.67)	6.355	0.012
DCR	42 (93.33)	37 (82.22)	5.752	0.017

TACE: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; CR: Complete response; PR: Partial response; SD: Stable disease; PD: Progressive disease; ORR: Overall response rate; DCR: Disease control rate.

Table 3 Comparison of alpha-fetoprotein, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin between two groups of patients (mean ± SD)

Index		TACE + RFA group (n = 45)	RFA group (n = 45)	t	P value
AFP (ng/L)	Before treatment	423.35 ± 25.64	422.47 ± 24.85	0.165	0.869
	After treatment	86.21 ± 26.71a	126.70 ± 38.21a	5.826	< 0.001
ALT (U/L)	Before treatment	283.61 ± 21.63	279.82 ± 20.09	0.861	0.392
	After treatment	47.34 ± 5.22a	109.23 ± 25.32a	16.059	< 0.001
TBiL (μmol/L)	Before treatment	91.37 ± 8.58	91.64 ± 8.94	0.146	0.884
	After treatment	36.26 ± 4.23a	48.83 ± 4.54a	13.589	< 0.001

^aP < 0.05, compared with before treatment.

TACE: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; TBiL: Total bilirubin.

Table 4 Comparison of complication rates between the two groups, n (%)

Index	TACE + RFA group (n = 45)	RFA group (n = 45)	χ2	P value
Fever	3	2
Bleeding	1	1
Liver abscess	1	0
Nausea and vomiting	1	1
Upper gastrointestinal bleeding	1	0
Abdominal pain	1	1
Abnormal liver function	4	3
Total incidence rate	12 (26.67)	8 (17.78)	2.286	0.131

TACE: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation.