Efficacy and Safety of CT-guided Percutaneous Cryoablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma at High-risk Sites

This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) located explicitly in high-risk sites.

Data were collected retrospectively from 685 HCC patients undergoing percutaneous cryoablation at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital between January 2018 and December 2021. Of these, 106 patients had lesions in high-risk sites, defined as a minimum distance of less than 10 mm from the heart/great vessels, diaphragm, gastrointestinal tract, and gallbladder, as determined by preoperative CT or MRI imaging. Technical success rate, complete ablation rate, and complications at 1, 12, and 24 months post-surgery were evaluated. A statistical analysis of the ablation effect difference between the high-risk site and non-high-risk site groups was conducted, utilizing propensity score matching (PSM) to mitigate patient selection bias. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyzes were performed to identify risk factors for the incidence of coronary heart disease.

The study comprised 106 cases in the high-risk group and 218 cases in the non-high-risk group. After PSM analysis until December 2021, 95 matched pairs were included. Both groups demonstrated a 100% intraoperative technical success rate, and no major complications related to cryoablation were observed. Follow-up ranged from 24 to 38 months. The complete ablation rate was 82.1% and 71.7% in the high-risk group and 83.9% and 73.9% in the non-high-risk group at 12 and 24 months, respectively. There was no significant difference in complete ablation rates between the two groups before and after PSM (P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis identified the distance between the tumor edge and high-risk site ≤ 5 mm and preoperative transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment as independent risk factors for cryoablation effect.

CT-guided percutaneous cryoablation proves to be a safe and effective approach for HCC patients with high-risk sites, serving as an alternative to surgical treatment.