Radiofrequency ablation for single hepatocellular carcinoma 3 cm or less as first-line treatment

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the patients suitable and not suitable for surgical resection n (%)

Variable	Non suitable for surgical resection(n = 100)	Suitable for surgical resection(n = 84)	P value
Age (yr)	76 (36-88)	52 (32-74)	0.015
Gender
Male/female	70 (70.0)/30 (30.0)	58 (69.0)/26 (31.0)	0.889
Pre-existing hepatitis
Hepatitis B	87 (87.0)	66 (78.5)	0.128
Hepatitis C	9 (9.0)	6 (7.1)	0.647
Hepatitis B and C	2 (2.0)	1 (1.2)	1.000
Others	2 (2.0)	1 (1.2)	1.000
Child-Pugh grade			0.000
Class A/class B	51 (51.0)/49 (49.0)	84(100)/ 0 (0)
Portal hypertension	84 (84.0)	0 (0)	0.000
AFP (ng/mL)	50.8 (2-240)	68.7 (4-300)	0.188
Tumor diameter (cm)	2.5 (1.1-3.0)	2.6 (1.0-3.0)	0.608
Location of tumor (S1/S2/S3/S4/S5/S6/S7/S8)	1/9/5/12/15/18/21/19	2/7/5/9/13/16/18/14	0.997
Subcapsular location			0.401
Yes/no	43 (43.0)/57 (57.0)	31 (36.9)/53 (63.1)
Approach of the first ablation session			0.401
Percutanous	57 (57.0)	53 (63.1)
Laparoscopic	43 (43.0)	31 (36.9)

Table 2 Significant variables for overall survival in the univariate and multivariate analyses (n = 184)

Significant variable	Univariate analysis		Multivariate analysis
	OR (95%CI)	P value	OR (95%CI)	P value
Age (> 65 yr), yes/no	1.141 (0.735-1.724)	0.034	1.057 (0.787-1.587)	0.097
Gender (male), yes/no	0.980 (0.545-1.763)	0.947
Tumor size (> 2.0 cm/ ≤ 2.0 cm)	1.001 (0.754-1.328)	0.994
Child-Pugh grade (class A/B)	0.976 (0.438-2.177)	0.954
AFP (> 20 ng/mL/ ≤ 20 ng/mL)	1.031 (0.726-2.041)	0.342
Hepatitis B (yes/no)	1.070 (0.557-2.054)	0.839
Hepatitis C (yes/no)	0.596 (0.252-1.412	0.240
Hepatitis B and C (yes/no)	0.596 (0.252-1.412)	0.240
Portal hypertension (yes/no)	2.847 (1.819-4.458)	0.015	2.089(1.387-2.958)	0.027
Total bilirubin (< 1.5 mg/dL/≥ 1.5 mg/dL)	3.023 (1.632-5.600)	0.006	1.556 (1.827-2.965)	0.028
Approach of the first ablation session (laparoscopic) (yes/no)	1.205 (0.678-2.231)	0.068