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Bland Embolisation Plus Ablation as Effective as Surgical Resection for Treatment of Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Presented at SIR

By M. M. Pennell

PHOENIX, AZ -- March 31, 2004 -- Bland embolisation plus radiofrequency ablation is as effective as surgical resection for local control of liver tumours, according to results of a retrospective analysis presented here March 27^th at the Society of Interventional Radiology 29^th Annual Meeting.

Anne Covey, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, New York, United States, said in an interview, "Surgery is still the best option [for patients with liver tumours], but only about 15% to 20% of patients are well enough to undergo surgery. The reason we are excited about this study is that the results for embolisation were comparable with surgery, which means that we have a real treatment to offer these patients."

The researchers compared outcomes for 33 patients treated with bland embolisation and radiofrequency ablation to 40 patients who underwent surgical resection. Generally, the embolisation patients were "a little sicker, 73% had viral hepatitis versus 63% in the surgery group," Dr. Covey said. Patients were well matched for age, tumour location and lesion size (mean tumour size 7 cm).

She said that at 5 years, survival after embolisation and ablation was 56% and after surgery it was 58%. Early survival -- at 1 and 2 years -- was slightly better in the embolisation and ablation group (87% and 83%, respectively) versus 81% and 70% in the surgery group.

The downside of embolisation was that the disease recurred faster than with surgery -- in 25 months versus a 53 months, respectively.

"And seven of the surgery patients who recurred were salvaged with embolisation. Five of these patients remain alive and disease-free at 92, 77, 63, 61 and 53 months," Dr. Covey said.


[Study title: Arterial Embolization and Ablation is Comparable to Surgical Resection in Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Abstract 73]

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