The outcome of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for liver metastases from colorectal cancer (CRLM) has been thought to be inferior to metastasectomy. However, the recent development of multielectrode RFA (multi-RFA) systems has made the ablation zone larger and more complete. Thus, we assessed the survival benefits of this modality in cases of metachronous CRLM. This retrospective study assessed patients diagnosed with resectable metachronous CRLM between 2013 and 2016; 132 patients were categorized by treatment for liver metastases: multi-RFA (n = 68), hepatectomy (n = 34), or systemic treatment only (n = 30). Therapeutic effectiveness, outcomes, and intervention-related complications were compared between groups. Median overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and intrahepatic recurrence-free survival (IHRFS) were 69.8, 85.2, and 59.7 months for the hepatectomy group; 53.4, 41.3, and 32.3 months for the multi-RFA group; and 19.1, 7.1, and 7.1 months for the systemic treatment group. No significant differences were observed between the multi-RFA and hepatectomy groups after a median follow-up of 59.8 months. This study demonstrated that multi-RFA and hepatectomy provide similar survival benefits for patients with resectable CRLM. Multi-RFA may represent a reliable treatment option for the management of resectable liver metastases.
Keywords: colorectal cancer; hepatectomy; liver metastasis; propensity-score matching; radiofrequency ablation; switching controller.