Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Radiofrequency ablation

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major health problem worldwide with an estimated incidence ranging between 500000 and 1000000 new cases annually. It is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths.For years partial hepatectomy and liver transplantation have been considered as the main curative treatments. However only 10% to 20% of HCC are resectable. Anatomic location size or number of lesions inadequate liver remnant or co-morbid condition precludes surgery in the majority of patients. Currently local ablative therapy competes with partial hepatectomy and liver transplantation as primary treatment for small HCC.Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is considered a promising alternative to surgery. For irresectable tumors RFA seems to be the most effective treatment among other locoregional therapies. The main advantages of RFA include low morbidity and mortality rates effective tumor ablation and preservation of maximal normal liver parenchyma.However despite the high complete necrosis rate of RFA early tumor recurrence within one year either local tumor recurrence or new tumor formationremains a significant problem.