Navigating the evidence for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment: Surgery vs radiofrequency ablation through sentiment and meta-analysis

Table 1 Overview of studies assessing outcomes of liver resection vs ablation in hepatocellular carcinoma

Ref.	Study type	Pre-PSM sample size	Post-PSM sample size	Subgroups	Subgroup type
Bai et al[10]	Retrospective comparative study	2197	1346	Yes	Microvascular invasion risk
Chong et al[11]	Retrospective comparative study	214	118	No
Chua et al[12]	Retrospective comparative study	219	104	No
Gory et al[13]	Retrospective comparative study	146		Yes	Tumor size (< 3 cm; < 5 cm)
He et al[14]	Retrospective comparative study	435	259	No
Hsiao et al[15]	Retrospective comparative study	387		No
Kim et al[16]	Retrospective comparative study	365	122	Yes	AFP level > 100 ng/mL (yes; no)
Lai et al[17]	Retrospective comparative study	94		Yes	Age (< 60 years; > 60 years)
Liu et al[19]	Retrospective comparative study	836	600	Yes	Risk of recurrence (high; low)
Liu et al[18]	Retrospective comparative study	237	158	No
Lu et al[20]	Retrospective comparative study	332	240	Yes	Milan criteria (yes; no) and recurrence within 2 years (yes; no)
Ng et al[21]	Randomized clinical trial	218		No
Qiu et al[22]	Retrospective comparative study	259	154	No
Song et al[24]	Retrospective comparative study	156		Yes	Tumor size (< 2 cm; 2-4 cm)
Song et al[23]	Randomized clinical trial	150		No
Takayasu et al[25]	Retrospective comparative study	853	732	No
Vitale et al[26]	Retrospective comparative study	720	693	No
Wang et al[27]	Retrospective comparative study	672	420	Yes	Age (60-64 years; 65-72 years; > 73 years)
Wei et al[28]	Retrospective comparative study	382		Yes	Pre-operatorial imaging traits
Xia et al[29]	Randomized clinical trial	217		Yes	Tumor size (< 3 cm; > 3 cm) and AFP > 200 ng/mL (yes; no)
Ye et al[30]	Retrospective comparative study	388	308	Yes	Tumor size (3-4 cm; 4-5 cm)
Zeng et al[31]	Retrospective comparative study	1632	1142	Yes	Tumor size (0-2 cm; 2-5 cm; > 5 cm) and age (< 65 years; > 65 years)
Zhong et al[32]	Retrospective comparative study	847	454	No

AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; PSM: Propensity score matching.