Copyright
©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2008; 14(47): 7170-7174
Published online Dec 21, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.7170
Published online Dec 21, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.7170
Laser ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma-A review
Antony Lawrence Gough-Palmer, Wladyslaw Michal Witold Gedroyc, MRI Department, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial Healthcare NHS trust, Praed St, London W2 1NY, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Gough-Palmer AL and Gedroyc WMW contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Antony Lawrence Gough-Palmer, MRI Department, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial Healthcare NHS trust, Praed St, London W2 1NY, United Kingdom. agoughpalmer@yahoo.com
Telephone: +44-207-8862041 Fax: +44-207-8861123
Received: June 11, 2008
Revised: September 17, 2008
Accepted: September 24, 2008
Published online: December 21, 2008
Revised: September 17, 2008
Accepted: September 24, 2008
Published online: December 21, 2008
Abstract
A wide range of local thermal ablative therapies have been developed in the treatment of non resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the last decade. Laser ablation (LA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are the two most widely used of these. This article provides an up to date overview of the role of laser ablation in the local treatment of HCC. General principles, technique, image guidance and patient selection are discussed. A review of published data on treatment efficacy, long term outcome and complication rates of laser ablation is included and comparison with RFA made. The role of laser ablation in combination with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is also discussed.
Keywords: Liver; Carcinoma; Hepatocellular; Laser therapy