A meta-analysis of long-term survival outcomes between surgical resection and radiofrequency ablation in patients with single hepatocellular carcinoma ≤ 2 cm (BCLC very early stage)

INTRODUCTION: The optimal management choice in consideration of long-term overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with BLCL very early stage is a matter of debate. AIM: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of liver resection (RES) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for single HCC 2 cm or less. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The primary sources of the reviewed studies through December 2017, without restriction on the languages or regions, were Pubmed and Embase. The hazard ratio (HR) was used as a summary statistic for long-term outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 5 studies qualified for inclusion in this quantified meta-analysis with a total of 729 HCC patients of BCLC very early stage. Only postoperative 1-year OS was comparable in both RES and RFA groups. As for long-term outcomes of 3-year and 5-year OSs, RES was significantly better than RFA, the HRs were 0.64 (95%CI: 0.41, 1.00; P = 0.05) and 0.63 (95%CI: 0.42, 0.95; P = 0.03) respectively. In terms of postoperative DFS, reduced tumor recurrence was observed in RES, and all the short- and long-terms outcomes were favored RES. DISCUSSION: RES offers better long-term oncologic outcomes compared with RFA in current clinical evidences.