Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 16, 2022; 10(14): 4414-4424
Published online May 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i14.4414
Evaluation of short- and medium-term efficacy and complications of ultrasound-guided ablation for small liver cancer
Hua Zhong, Rong Hu, Yun-Shan Jiang
Hua Zhong, Rong Hu, Yun-Shan Jiang, Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Central Hospital of Yongzhou, Yongzhou 425000, Hunan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhong H designed the study; Hu R drafted the work; Jiang YS and Zhong H collected the data; Hu R analyzed and interpreted data; Jiang YS and Zhong H wrote and revised the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Central Hospital of Yongzhou.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest between them.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yun-Shan Jiang, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Central Hospital of Yongzhou, No. 151 Xiaoshui West Road, Yongzhou 425000, Hunan Province, China. jys1111112021@163.com
Received: November 21, 2021
Peer-review started: November 21, 2021
First decision: December 9, 2021
Revised: December 19, 2021
Accepted: March 14, 2022
Article in press: March 14, 2022
Published online: May 16, 2022
Processing time: 172 Days and 20 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Early-stage liver cancer is often treated with surgery and microwave ablation (MWA). MWA effectively preserves normal liver tissue and causes transient coagulation and necrosis of local liver tumor cells. However, due to technical limitations, cancerous liver tissue cannot be completely ablated; therefore, the probability of local tumor recurrence is high.

Research motivation

Improve the clinical efficacy and safety of percutaneous MWA in the treatment of small liver cancer.

Research objectives

This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous MWA in the treatment of small liver cancer.

Research methods

A total of 118 patients treated for small liver cancer in The Central Hospital of Yongzhou from January 2018 to April 2019 were selected.

Research results

The operation time, blood loss, hospitalization time and medical expenses in the MWA group were lower than those in the laparoscopic group. The operation time, blood loss, hospitalization time, medical expenses, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase of the MWA group were lower than those of the laparoscopic group at 2 d and 1 wk after surgery. Compared with preoperatively, the serum alpha fetal protein, carcinoembryonic antigen and Treg levels of the two groups were reduced. The maximum area of the lesion in the MWA group was 4.86 ± 0.90 cm2, 1.24 ± 0.57 cm2, and 0.31 ± 0.11 cm2 before operation, 1 and 3 mo after operation, respectively. Of these, 58 people achieved a complete response, and 8 achieved a partial response. After 2 years of follow-up, the progression-free survival rate and overall survival rate of the MWA group were 37.88% and 66.67%, respectively, and the laparoscopic group were 44.23% and 76.92%, the difference was not statistically significant.

Research conclusions

The effect of ultrasounds-guided percutaneous MWA in the treatment of small liver cancer are similar to those of laparoscopic surgery. However, ablation causes less trauma and liver dysfunction.

Research perspectives

It can improve the clinical efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous MWA in the treatment of small liver cancer in the future.