A systematic review of the effect of radiofrequency ablation and percutaneous ethanol injection therapy on small hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the value of radiofrequency ablation and Percutaneous Ethanol Injection in the treatment of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods We searched MED-LINE (1966-2009), EMBASE (1966-2009), CBMdisc (1978-2009), The Cochrane Library, Evidence Base Medicine Reviews (Ovid Edition), and Cancerlit (1993-2009). Date of last search: 30Jun 2009. There were no restrictions in language. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and nonRCTs (NRCT) were both included in this study, and the quality of each study included was assessed.Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 4.2 software. Results Four RCTs and one NRCT met the inclusion criteria on RFA versus PEI in the treatment of small HCCs. Meta-analysis showed the following: complete tumor response rate, 3-year survival rate, 1-, 3-year tumor-free survival rates and 1-, 3-year local recurrence rates showed statistically significant difference in the RFA group than the PEI group(P＜0.05). The 1-year survival rate and the main complications of the two groups of patients were similar and they were not significantly different (P＞0. 055). Conclusions The results show that RFA resulted in better clinical outcomes than PEI in the treatment of small HCC larger than 2 cm, and no difference small HCC of 2 cm or less. The two modalities were safe and there were vey few adverse effects of the treatments. Key words: Radiofrequency ablation; Percutaneous ethanol injection; Treatment; Small hepatocellular carcinoma; Systematic review