Radiofrequency Ablation Assisted Hepatectomy Versus Hepatectomy Alone for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

RFA has become a standard method in the treatment of small HCC(≤2 cm) due to its ease of use, safety, cost-effectiveness, and minimal invasiveness. It can ablated and blocked the small vessels while destroyed the tumor cell in situ. Surgical resection is the most widely accepted treatment for the patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in the Asian countries. But the effectiveness of hepatectomy was depressed because of the high recurrence rate. The spreading of the cancer cell along the portal vein or the hepatic vein system during the operation account for the tumor recurrence. Using RFA to ablate and block the small vessels around the tumor before resection will reduce the spreading of the cancer cell. Investigators hypothesized that the RFA assisted hepatectomy might result in lower recurrence rate than hepatectomy alone in the treatment of advanced HCC. Thus, the purpose of this study was to prospectively compare the effects of RFA assisted hepatectomy with hepatectomy alone for the treatment of advanced HCC.