Resection versus Radiofrequency Thermal Ablation of Colorectal Liver Metastasis: A Retrospective Comparative Study

Abstract

Hepatic resection (HR) has been reported as the standard treatment for colorectal liver metastasis. Nevertheless, HR might not be suitable for some situations where those patients might be helped by chemoembolization or radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat their disease. RFA was first introduced in the late 1990s, however, it is questionable that RFA has similar survival rates as HR for patients with resectable liver metastasis. The aim of the present study was to compare the survival rates in patients with colorectal liver metastasis who were offered RFA versus HR. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study conducted on 40 patients, 16 underwent RFA and 24 underwent HR for colorectal liver metastasis. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to determine survival and the log-rank test was used for comparison between groups. Results: The 3-year overall survival rates for patients with HR and RFA were 51.5 and 44.1% respectively (p=0.285). Conclusion: The 3-year overall and disease-free survival with RFA were similar to those treated with HR.