The Efficacy of Surgical Resection versus Radiofrequency Ablation for the Treatment of Single Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A SEER-Based Study

Fang Wu; Chao Wei; Shicun Zhang; Shanshan Jia; Jidong Zhang

doi:10.1155/2023/1269504

The Efficacy of Surgical Resection versus Radiofrequency Ablation for the Treatment of Single Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A SEER-Based Study

Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2023 Feb 21:2023:1269504. doi: 10.1155/2023/1269504. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Fang Wu¹, Chao Wei², Shicun Zhang³, Shanshan Jia⁴, Jidong Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, School of Clinical Medical, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, 154007, Heilongjiang Province, China.
² Department of Medical Oncology, The Seventh Hospital of Qiqihar, Qiqihar, 161000, Heilongjiang Province, China.
³ Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, 161000, Heilongjiang Province, China.
⁴ Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Qiqihar, Qiqihar, 161000, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Abstract

Background: There is controversy regarding whether patients with single hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) should be offered radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as a first-line treatment option. Thus, this study compared overall survival after surgical resection (SR) and RFA for single HCC.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used for this retrospective study. The study included 30- to 84-year-old patients diagnosed with HCC from 2000 to 2018. Selection bias was reduced via propensity score matching (PSM). The study compared the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with single HCC who were treated with SR and RFA.

Results: Before and after PSM, the median OS and median CSS were significantly longer in the SR group than in the RFA group (p < 0.05). In the subgroup analysis, the median OS and median CSS for male and female patients with male and female patients with tumor sizes <3, 3-5, and>5 cm, age at diagnosis between 60 and 84 years, and grades I-IV tumors were longer than in the SR group than in the RFA group (p < 0.05). Similar results were reported for patients who received chemotherapy (p < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that compared with RFA, SR was an independent favorable factor for OS and CSS (p < 0.05) before and after PSM.

Conclusion: Patients with SR who had a single HCC showed higher OS and CSS compared with patients who received RFA. Hence, SR should be used as a first-line treatment in cases of single HCC.