Comparison of laser- and RF based interstitial coagulation systems for the treatment of liver tumors

摘要

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. Surgical treatments, includinghepatic resection and liver transplantation are considered as the most effective treatment of HCC. However, less than20% of HCC patients can be treated surgically because of: multi-focal diseases, proximity of tumor to key vascular orbiliary structures and inadequate functional hepatic reserve related coexistent cirrhosis. In this unfortunate groups ofpatients various palliative treatments modalities are being performed to extend the time of survival and quality of life.These techniques include trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) andInterstitial Thermal Therapy: laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) and radio-frequency ablation (RFA).