Surgical microwave ablation of 3035 liver tumors in 1416 patients: a retrospective analysis of 16 years of experience.

BACKGROUND

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a safe and effective treatment of a wide range of benign and malignant liver tumors. However, most studies have been underpowered.

METHODS

This was a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients who underwent MWA between 2006 and 2023.

RESULTS

A total of 3035 tumors were ablated during the study. Of note, 105 patients (6.5%) had readmission within 30 days after surgery. Most MWAs were performed laparoscopically (1400 [86.8%]). The median overall survival (OS) for MWA regardless of tumor pathology was 3.9 years (95% CI, 3.5-4.4), and the median overall recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 2.2 years (95% CI, 1.8-2.6). The median OS after MWA differed according to tumor pathology. Hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and colorectal liver metastasis had a median OS of 3.7, 3.7, and 3.9 years, respectively. In addition, the median RFS after MWA differed significantly among the pathologies.

CONCLUSION

Surgical MWA is a safe and effective technique for treating diverse liver tumors. Although OS and DFS differed significantly by tumor pathology, each pathology demonstrated noninferior OS and DFS compared with the previously cited best-standard therapy.