SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1607338
This article is part of the Research TopicRegenerative Liver SurgeryView all 4 articles
Liver resection versus radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma: a systemic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Shenzhen Baoan People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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Background: Liver resection and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are two common treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, their efficacy and safety remain unclear. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness and safety of these two treatments.We searched multiple databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared liver resection with RFA for the treatment of HCC. The primary outcome was 5-year overall survival rate. The secondary endpoint was the incidence of complications. We used RevMan 5.4 software to calculate the pooled effects and 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: Ten RCTs and 35 cohort studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled OR for 5-year overall survival rate favored liver resection (OR=1.76, 95% CI=1.19-2.61, P<0.00001). RFA was indicated with less postoperative complications (OR=3.35, 95% CI=2.52-4.45, P<0.00001).This meta-analysis suggests that liver resection is more effective than RFA in treating HCC with regard to higher 5-year overall survival rate, while the safety of liver resection was concerning. We recommend liver resection as a first-line treatment for HCC, but RFA may be a preferable choice for patients who are not suitable for surgical procedures. More high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these findings.
Keywords: Meta-analysis, Hepatectomy, Radio Frequency Ablation, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, liver cancer
Received: 07 Apr 2025; Accepted: 19 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, He, Song, Yang, Fu and Tian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanhui Zhu, Shenzhen Baoan People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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