Local recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after radiofrequency ablation

A 51-year-old Chinese male with a 20-year history of hepatitis B was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma in the right anterior portion of the liver, sized 3.5 cm × 3.2 cm, and was treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) on December 18, 2001. The patient did not receive antiviral therapy for hepatitis B virus after RFA. The treated lesion reduced gradually and reached its minimum size of 1.7 cm × 1.5 cm seven years later on November 18, 2008. However computed tomography findings revealed that a recurrence lesion of 6.0 cm × 4.8 cm which was histologically confirmed overlapped the previous treated lesion at the 8th year on December 3, 2009. Although recurrence at 8 years after curative RFA is a rare event, such a possibility must be kept in mind. To find and treat the recurrence lesion promptly, long-term and close monitoring is warranted after RFA. Meanwhile, the recurrence-prevention therapy is as important as close monitoring for those patients with a history of hepatitis B.