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Updated: Mar 25, 2026
A Syngeneic Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Model to Study the Effects of Irreversible Electroporation
Published on: June 8, 2018
Percutaneous Ablation of Hepatic Tumors Using Irreversible Electroporation: A Prospective Safety and Midterm Efficacy
Christoph Niessen1, Lukas P Beyer1, Benedikt Pregler1
1Department of Radiology, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, Regensburg D-93053, Germany.
Purpose:
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE) of primary and secondary liver cancer unsuitable for resection or thermal ablation.
Materials And Methods:
In this prospective, single-center study, 65 malignant liver tumors (hepatocellular carcinoma, n = 33; cholangiocellular carcinoma, n = 5; colorectal cancer metastasis, n = 22; neuroendocrine cancer metastasis, n = 3; testicular cancer metastasis, n = 2) in 34 patients (27 men, 7 women; mean age, 59.4 y ± 11.2) were treated. Local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) according to the Kaplan-Meier method was evaluated after a median follow-up of 13.9 months.
Results:
Median tumor diameter was 2.4 cm ± 1.4 (range, 0.2-7.1 cm). Of 65 tumors, 12 (18.5%) required retreatment because of incomplete ablation (n = 3) or early local recurrence (n = 9). LRFS at 3, 6, and 12 months was 87.4%, 79.8%, and 74.8%. The median time to progressive disease according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors was 15.6 months. Overall complication rate was 27.5% with six major complications and eight minor complications. Major complications included diffuse intraperitonal bleeding (n = 1), partial thrombosis of the portal vein (n = 1), and liver abscesses (n = 4). Minor complications were liver hematomas (n = 6) and clinically inapparent pneumothoraces (n = 2).
Conclusions:
IRE showed promising results regarding therapeutic efficacy for the percutaneous treatment of liver tumors; however, significant concerns remain regarding its safety.
