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Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Thermal Ablation for the Treatment of Abdominal Tumors
Published on: March 7, 2011
Outcome of MR-guided percutaneous cryoablation for hepatocellular carcinoma
Tadashi Shimizu1, Yusuke Sakuhara, Daisuke Abo
1Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, North-12 West-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan. tshim@hs.hokudai.ac.jp
Purpose:
To assess the mid-term results of MR-guided percutaneous cryoablation for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods:
Using an argon-based cryoablation system, MR-guided percutaneous cryoablation was performed. The number of tumors was three or fewer. The maximum diameter of tumors was less than 5 cm when solitary and no more than 3 cm when multiple. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the survival of patients.
Results:
Among 15 patients, 16 tumors were treated. The maximum tumor diameter ranged from 1.2 to 4.5 cm, with a mean of 2.5 +/- 0.8 cm (mean +/- standard deviation). The volume of iceballs measured on MR-images was greater than that of the tumors in all cases. The follow-up period ranged from 10 to 52 months, with a mean of 36.6 +/- 12.1 months. One-year and 3-year overall survival were 93.8 and 79.3%, respectively. The complete ablation rate was 80.8% at 3 years. Immediate complications were pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pleural effusion. An ablation zone was not absorbed and content exuded from a scar of the probe tract 4 months after cryoablation in one patient.
Conclusion:
MR-guided percutaneous cryoablation appears to be a feasible modality and potentially good option for the treatment of small HCC.
