Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015.
World J Hepatol. May 18, 2015; 7(8): 1054-1063
Published online May 18, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i8.1054
Table 1 Comparison of radiofrequency over microwave ablation methods
RFAMWA
Electric currentElectromagnetic energy
Grounding pads (risk of burns due to ground pads)No grounding pads (no risk of burns)
Tissue charring and boiling cause increase of impedance that reduce electrical and thermal conductivityRapid and homogeneous heating + ionic polarization
Lower intratumoral temperaturesHigher intratumoral temperatures
More peri-procedural painLess peri-procedural pain
Unpredictable ablation zoneMore predictable ablation zone
Heat-sink effectLess susceptible to heat-sink effect
Single lesion can be treatedSimultaneous treatment of multiple lesions
More procedural timeShorter procedural time
Less ablation volumeLarger ablation volume
Similar complications and complication rate
Surgical clips or pacemaker are contraindicationsSurgical clips or a pacemaker not a contraindication
Table 2 Comparison of clinical outcomes across published series of hepatocellular carcinoma patients for microwave ablation over radiofrequency
Ref.MethodGuidancePatientsLesionsMean ageTimeSize in cmCompleteLocal recurrence (%)Overall survival
ablation (%)1 yr (%)2 yr (%)3 yr (%)4 yr (%)5 yr (%)Median (mo)
Shibata et al[50]MWAPercutaneous364662.5-< 48917.4------
RFAPercutaneous364863.6-< 4968.3------
Xu et al[84]MWAPercutaneous5411253.4-2.5 ± 1.194.67.1------
RFAPercutaneous437853.4-2.6 ± 1.489.712.8------
Simo et al[85]MWALaparoscopic, US1315598-10 min2.31-------7
RFALaparoscopic, US22275910-12 min2.53-------19
Lu et al[78]MWAPercutaneous, US499850.15 min3 (25/49)94.911.881.661.250.536.8-32.5
RFAPercutaneous, US537254.510 min3 (32/53)93.120.971.747.237.624.227.1
Qian et al[63]MWAPercutaneous, US222252-4.895.518------
RFAPercutaneous, US202056-3.59515------
Zhang et al[86]MWAPercutaneous, US77105548 min< 3 (36), 3.1 to 5 (41)86.710.592.2-51.7-38.5-
RFAPercutaneous, US7897546-20 min< 3 (47), 3.1 to 5 (31)83.411.891-64.1-41.3-
Abdelaziz et al[79]MWAPercutaneous66-53.5-2.9 ± 0.9796.13.996.462----
RFAPercutaneous45-56.8-2.95 ± 1.0394.213.567.647.4----
Ding et al[81]MWAPercutaneous85985910< 398.510.998.792.382.777.8-45.34
RFAPercutaneous11313158.612< 3995.29890.777.677.6-52.99
Ohmoto et al[80]MWAPercutaneous495664< 21989704939--
RFAPercutaneous343767< 29100837070--