[Primary tumors of the liver: radiologic interventional procedures]

Primary liver tumors are one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Surgical resection of the tumors is considered the only potentially curative therapy. It has been estimated that only 20%-30% of patients with HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) are surgical candidates. For this reason a number of alternative therapies have been used for the treatment of HCC. These include transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE), percutaneous alcohol instillation (PAI) and thermal ablative techniques. Thermal ablation for the treatment of HCC include both freezing (cryoablation) and heating (radiofrequency, microwave, laser and high-intensity focussed sonography) techniques. Of these techniques, percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) is increasingly used for the local tumor destruction. The low rate of complications and the technical development increasing the efficacy of PRFA have shown that this is a very promising and safe technique.