Clinical outcome of medium-sized hepatocellular carcinoma treated with microwave ablation

Figure 1 Magnetic resonance imaging of the liver in a patient with medium-sized hepatocellular carcinoma before and after treatment with microwave ablation. A: Magnetic resonance imaging of liver before treatment with microwave ablation (MWA). Medium-sized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is labeled (arrow); B: MRI of liver at 1 mo after treatment with MWA. Medium-sized HCC is labeled (arrow). The tumor diameter was 4 cm × 4 cm. The power was set to 100 W. The ablation time was 3 min.

Figure 2 Intra-hepatic recurrences and management. Local tumor recurrence(s) and intra-hepatic recurrence(s) occurred in 31 patients, which were managed with various therapeutic modalities. PMWA: Percutaneous microwave ablation; TACE: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; PEI: Percutaneous ethanol injection.

Figure 3 Local tumor recurrence(s) and intra-hepatic recurrence curves for 182 patients with medium-sized hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent microwave ablation.

Figure 4 Recurrence-free survival and overall survival curves for 182 patients with medium-sized hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent microwave ablation.