Safety and efficacy of irreversible electroporation ablation in treating liver cancer / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of irreversible electroporation ablation for liver cancer.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 21 patients who underwent irreversible electroporation ablation for liver cancer from September 2018 to August 2019. There were 17 males and 4 females, with a median age of 57.9 (48, 69) years old. Complications were graded according to the Clavien Dindo complication grading system. Tumor response was evaluated by the improved evaluation standard of solid tumor efficacy. Clinical data such as tumor size and operation time were recorded. Tumor recurrence and survival outcomes were followed-up until August 27, 2020.Results:All patients had well-compensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh A 20 cases, Child-Pugh B 1 case). There was no persistent deterioration of liver function after ablation. The diameter of tumor ranged from 10 to 56 mm, with 7 patients having a tumor diameter over 3 cm. Each of the 21 patients received only once irreversible electroporation ablation and the technical success rate was 100%. The operation time was 2.3 (1.5, 3.5) h. All complications were Clavien Dindo grade Ⅰ, which included pain, fever and brachial plexus strain. Imaging examination 4 weeks after treatment showed a complete remission rate of 85.7% (18/21), a partial remission rate of 9.5% (2/21), a stable disease rate of 0(0/21), and a progressive disease rate of 4.8% (1/21). The objective remission rate was 95.2% (20/21). Overall recurrence rates were 9.5% (2/21) at 3 months and 23.8% (5/21) at 12 months. AFP at 3 and 12 months after treatment were (28.0±7.3) and (29.0±8.1) ng/ml, respectively, which were significantly lower than that before treatment (278.0±41.2) ng/ml ( t3m=-3.57, t12m=-4.12, P<0.05). Conclusion:Irreversible electroporation ablation was safe and effective in treating malignant liver tumors.