Retrospective Cohort Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2015; 21(5): 1554-1566
Published online Feb 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i5.1554
Table 1 Comparison of baseline characteristics of 382 hepatocellular carcinoma patients in the difficult group and 88 hepatocellular carcinoma patients in the control group n (%)
CharacteristicDifficult group(n = 382)Control group(n = 88)P value
Sex
Male331 (86.6)74 (84.1)0.531
Female51 (13.4)14 (15.9)
Age (yr)55.3 ± 10.157.4 ± 11.80.652
Liver cirrhosis369 (96.6)84 (95.5)0.605
Child-Pugh class
Class A235 (61.5)62 (70.5)0.117
Class B147 (38.5)26 (29.5)
Maximum diameter3.4 ± 1.23.1 ± 1.10.071
> 3 cm204 (53.4)43 (48.9)
> 5 cm40 (10.5)5 (5.7)
Tumor number1.4 ± 0.61.3 ± 0.90.128
Elevated AFP172 (45.0)38 (43.2)0.754
Previous TACE95 (24.9)18 (20.5)0.382
Previous hepatectomy58 (15.2)11 (12.5)0.521
Table 2 Outcome of radiofrequency ablation in the difficult and control groups n (%)
GroupNumber of patientsNumber of tumorsTumor diameter (cm)Early necrosisLocal progression
Control881703.1 ± 1.1166 (97.6)12 (7.1)1
Difficult3824733.4 ± 1.2446 (94.3)60 (12.7)1
Near large vessels or bile ducts87953.5 ± 1.589 (93.7)10 (10.5)
Near peripheral structures2322913.4 ± 1.2274 (94.2)42 (14.4)1
Under liver capsule63873.1 ± 1.483 (95.4)8 (9.2)
Total4706433.3 ± 1.3612 (95.2)72 (11.2)
Table 3 Comparison of overall survival between the difficult and control groups
GroupNumber of patientsOverall survival (%)1
1-yr3-yr5-yr7-yr
Control8892.560.343.232.8
Difficult38284.354.441.229.9
Near large vessels or bile ducts8786.341.438.033.8
Near peripheral structures23282.856.942.928.8
Under liver capsule6390.269.240.130.1
Total47085.856.841.630.4
Table 4 Comparison of local progression-free survival between the difficult and control groups
GroupNumber of patientsLocal progression-free survival (%)1
1-yr3-yr5-yr7-yr
Control8888.255.636.336.3
Difficult38277.949.038.029.1
Near large vessels or bile ducts8781.735.633.430.7
Near peripheral structures23277.348.738.627.2
Under liver capsule6380.553.137.828.1
Total47079.850.337.529.8
Table 5 Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors with Cox proportional hazards in 470 hepatic cellular cancer patients after radiofrequency ablation
VariableWald valueP valueHR95%CI for HR
LowerUpper
Child-Pugh classification28.0460.0002.0241.5592.628
Tumor number8.5550.0031.5991.1672.189
Liver function enzyme4.7600.0291.4261.0371.963
Tumor size3.9510.0471.2621.0031.589
Table 6 Comparison of major complications between the difficult and control groups
GroupNumber of patientsNumber of RFAComplication (%)Common complication name
Control881211 (0.8)1Needle seeding (1/1)
Difficult38256828 (4.9)1
Near large vessels or bile ducts871516 (4.0)Bile duct injury (4/6)
Near peripheral structures23230918 (5.8)GI perforation (3/18) Bloody pleural (3/18) Needle seeding (3/18)
Under liver capsule631084 (3.7)Hemoperitoneum (2/4) Needle seeding (2/4)
Total47068929 (4.2)