Are Head-to-Head Comparisons Between Radiofrequency Ablation and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Really Necessary for Localized Hepatocellular Carcinoma?

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (24) ◽  
pp. 2563-2564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Sanuki ◽  
Atsuya Takeda
2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 463-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Uan-Sian Feng ◽  
Vincent D. Marshall ◽  
Neehar Parikh

463 Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an increasingly common and highly morbid malignancy worldwide, including the US. For early stage patients ablative strategies are important potentially curative treatment options. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has emerged as a promising non-surgical ablative therapy, although it is technically demanding and its comparison with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) remains confined to a single institution retrospective review. We queried the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database to assess RFA and SBRT use in the US. Methods: We identified patients greater than 65 years old who were diagnosed from 2004-11 with stage I or II HCC and treated with RFA or SBRT. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier curves and log rank test. Factors associated with overall survival (OS) and early ( ≤ 90 day) hospital admission post-treatment were identified using propensity score (PS) adjusted multivariate analysis. Results: 825 patients were identified, 747 treated with RFA and 78 SBRT. 22 pts received both treatments and were excluded from this analysis. The mean Charlson comorbidity index was 1.0±1.1. Median age was 74, range 66-90. Patients who received RFA were more likely to live in the West and have liver decompensation. Patients who received SBRT were more likely to be white and treated in the Midwest. After using PS matching there were 78 in each cohort. In these patients, mean overall survival (OS) was 2.25 and 2.04 yrs for RFA and SBRT, p = 0.06. Younger age, lack of liver decompensation, treatment in the West, and liver transplantation were associated with longer OS, HR 0.96, p = 0.05; HR 0.37, p = 0.002; HR 0.57, p = 0.04; HR 0.18, p = 0.008, respectively. 90 day hospitalization rates did not differ between treatments; only liver decompensation was predictive of hospitalization, OR 3.33, p = 0.032. Conclusions: In a national cohort of early stage HCC patients, treatment with RFA vs SBRT resulted in no significant difference in OS. SBRT appears to be a comparable ablative strategy to RFA in this population. This highlights the need for a randomized trial comparing these two modalities.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang-Xun Pan ◽  
Mian Xi ◽  
Yi-Zhen Fu ◽  
Dan-Dan Hu ◽  
Jun-Cheng Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract: (1) Background: To investigate the clinical outcomes between radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for residual hepatocellular carcinoma (RHCC). (2) Methods: 139 patients were diagnosed with the RHCC after post-operative checkup, among whom 39 and 33 patients underwent RFA or SBRT as salvage treatments, respectively. We applied the propensity score matching (PSM) to adjust for imbalances in treatment assignment. Local disease progression, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related side effects were the study endpoints. (3) Results: Before PSM, the SBRT group demonstrated significantly lower local disease progression rate (6/33 vs. 23/39; p = 0.002), better PFS (the 1- and 3-year PFS were 63.3% and 49.3% vs. 41.5% and 22.3%, respectively, p = 0.036), and comparable OS (the 1- and 3-year OS were 85.4% and 71.1% vs. 97.3% and 57.6%, respectively, p = 0.680). After PSM of 23 matched cases, the SBRT group demonstrated significantly lower local disease progression rate, better PFS and comparable OS. Centrally located tumor predicted the worse OS. No acute grade 3+ toxicity was observed in both groups. (4) Conclusion: SBRT might be the preferred treatment for RHCC, especially for patients with larger tumors or tumors abutting major vessels, rather than repeated RFA.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devalkumar J. Rajyaguru ◽  
Andrew J. Borgert ◽  
Angela L. Smith ◽  
Reggie M. Thomes ◽  
Patrick D. Conway ◽  
...  

Purpose Data that guide selection of optimal local ablative therapy for the management localized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are lacking. Because there are limited prospective comparative data for these treatment modalities, we aimed to compare the effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) versus stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) by using the National Cancer Database. Methods We conducted an observational study to compare the effectiveness of RFA versus SBRT in nonsurgically managed patients with stage I or II HCC. Overall survival was compared by using propensity score–weighted and propensity score–matched analyses based on patient-, facility-, and tumor-level characteristics. A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of severe fibrosis/cirrhosis. In addition, we performed exploratory analyses to determine the effectiveness of RFA and SBRT in clinically relevant patient subsets. Results Overall, 3,684 (92.6%) and 296 (7.4%) nonsurgically managed patients with stage I or II HCC received RFA or SBRT, respectively. After propensity matching, 5-year overall survival was 29.8% (95% CI, 24.5% to 35.3%) in the RFA group versus 19.3% (95% CI, 13.5% to 25.9%) in the SBRT group ( P < .001). Inverse probability–weighted analysis yielded similar results. The benefit of RFA was consistent across all subgroups examined and was robust to the effects of severe fibrosis/cirrhosis. Conclusion Our study suggests that treatment with RFA yields superior survival compared with SBRT for nonsurgically managed patients with stage I or II HCC. Even though our results are limited by the biases related to the retrospective study design, we believe that, in the absence of a randomized clinical trial, our findings should be considered when recommending local ablative therapy for localized unresectable HCC.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feiqian Wang ◽  
Kazushi Numata ◽  
Atsuya Takeda ◽  
Katsuaki Ogushi ◽  
Hiroyuki Fukuda ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In clinical practice, many hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients in Barcelona Clinical Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage A4–B1 cannot receive the curative treatments of liver transplantation, resection, and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which are the recommended options according to liver cancer guidelines. Our aim is to study the feasibility of RFA and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) as a curative treatment for different multifocal HCCs in BCLC stage A4–B1 patients. Methods From September 2014 to August 2019, 39 multifocal HCC lesions (median diameter: 16.6 mm) from 15 patients (median age: 73 years) were retrospectively selected. Among them, 23 were treated by RFA and the other 16 by SBRT because of predictable insufficiency and/or risk related to RFA performance. The indicators for evaluating this novel therapy were the tumor response, prognosis (recurrence and survival), and adverse effects (deterioration of laboratory test values and severe complications). Results The median follow-up duration was 31.3 months (range: 15.1–71.9 months). The total patients with a one-year complete response, stable disease, or disease progression were 11, 1, and 3, respectively. In total, 8 and 2 patients had confronted intrahepatic or local recurrence, respectively. The one-year progression-free survival rate and local control rate were 80% (12/15 patients) and 97.4% (38/39 lesions), respectively. The median time to progression was 20.1 (2.8–45.1) months. The one- and two-year survival rates were 100 and 88.9%, respectively. In up to five months’ observation, no patient showed severe complications. Seven, four, and two patients had slight changes in their white blood cells, platelet count, or albumin–bilirubin grade, respectively. Conclusions For patients with BCLC stage A4–B1, RFA and SBRT treatment for different multifocal HCCs may be a potential option because of the favorable prognosis and safety. However, before its application in clinical practice, prospective, controlled, large-scale studies are needed to further confirm our conclusions.


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