Single hepatocellular carcinoma ≤ 3 cm in left lateral segment: Liver resection or radiofrequency ablation?

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients

Characteristics	LLS (n = 66)	RFA (n = 67)	P value
Gender-male	48 (72.7)	52 (77.6)	0.514
Age (yr)	55 (27-76)	59 (39-85)	0.002
BMI	23.5 (17.8-33.4)	23.6 (18.5-32.0)	0.374
Etiology			0.014
HBV	51 (78.5)	44 (65.7)
HCV	4 (6.2)	17 (25.4)
Alcoholic	2 (3.1)	2 (3.0)
NBNC	4 (6.2)	4 (6.0)
Others	4 (6.2)	0 (0)
WBC (/μL)	5345 (2600-8950)	4000 (2000-11000)	0.007
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	14.2 (10.8-17.7)	14.0 (8.0-17.0)	0.001
Platelet (/μL)	149500 (51000-276000)	103000 (50000-257000)	0.000
INR	1.1 (0.9-1.3)	1.00 (1.0-2.0)	0.000
Albumin (g/dL)	4.3 (3.5-4.9)	4.0 (3.0-5.0)	0.000
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.7 (0.2-1.7)	1.0 (0.2-2.0)	0.538
AST (IU/L)	33 (16-95)	38 (12-124)	0.007
ALT (IU/L)	30 (10-162)	35 (8-138)	0.477
ALP (IU/L)	78 (35-176)	83 (45-189)	0.392
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.91 (0.50-1.27)	0.88 (0.46-2.64)	0.507
ICG-R15	10.5% (2.3%-24.9%)	16.8% (3.3%-45.2%)	0.000
AFP (ng/mL)	28.5 (1-7102)	20.0 (2-5652)	0.323
PIVKA-II (mAU/mL)	25 (3-500)	18 (9-500)	0.011
Tumor size (cm)	2.1 (0.8-3.0)	1.8 (1.0-2.9)	0.035

Data are presented as “n (%)” or “median (range)”. LLS: Left lateral sectionectomy; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; BMI: Body mass index; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; NBNC: Non-B, non-C; WBC: White blood cells; INR: International normalized ratio; AST: Aspartate transaminase; ALT: Alanine transaminase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; ICG-R15: Indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min; APF: Alpha-fetoprotein; PIVKA-II: Protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonism-II.

Table 2 Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence by univariate analysis

Risk factors	OR	95%CI	P value
Group-RFA	1.934	1.141-3.277	0.014
Gender-female	0.536	0.264-1.090	0.085
Age	1.015	0.991-1.040	0.217
BMI	1.066	0.972-1.169	0.177
WBC	0.924	0.781-1.093	0.354
Hemoglobin	0.900	0.773-1.047	0.171
Platelet	0.993	0.988-0.998	0.008
INR	0.730	0.019-27.673	0.865
Albumin	0.407	0.255-0.650	0.000
Total bilirubin	0.970	0.539-1.746	0.920
AST	1.008	0.996-1.019	0.196
ALT	1.002	0.992-1.011	0.736
ALP	1.001	0.993-1.009	0.816
Creatinine	1.511	0.490-4.655	0.473
ICG-R15	1.048	1.015-1.082	0.004
AFP	1.000	1.000-1.000	0.980
PIVKA-II	1.004	1.001-1.007	0.017
Tumor size	0.952	0.907-1.000	0.050

OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; BMI: Body mass index; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; NBNC: Non-B, non-C; WBC: White blood cells; INR: International normalized ratio; AST: Aspartate transaminase; ALT: Alanine transaminase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; ICG-R15: Indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min; APF: Alpha-fetoprotein; PIVKA-II: Protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonism-II.