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Image-Guided Cancer Therapy pp 293–301Cite as

Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation in the Treatment of Primary Liver Cancers

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Abstract

The development of image-guided percutaneous techniques for local tumor ablation has been one of the major advances in the treatment of liver malignancies. Among these methods, radiofrequency (RF) ablation is currently established as the primary ablative modality at most institutions. In the setting of patients of very early and early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) – according to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system image-guided tumor ablation is recommended when patients are excluded from surgical options. The goal of RF ablation is to induce thermal injury to the tissue through electromagnetic energy deposition. One or multiple electrodes have to be inserted directly into the tumor to deliver RF energy current. Electrodes are coupled with RF generators and can be monopolar or bipolar, and they can have different designs (multitined expandable, internally cooled, perfused). Targeting of the lesion can be performed with US, CT, or MR imaging. The guidance system is chosen largely on the basis of operator preference and local availability of dedicated equipment such as fluoro-CT or open MR systems. RF ablation has shown superior anticancer effect and greater survival benefit with respect to the seminal percutaneous technique, ethanol injection, in meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and is currently established as the standard method for local tumor treatment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Intervention, School of Medicine, University of Pisa, Cisanello Hospital, Bldg. 29 Via Paradisa 2, 56124, Pisa, IT, Italy

    Laura Crocetti & Riccardo Lencioni

Authors
  1. Laura Crocetti
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  2. Riccardo Lencioni
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura Crocetti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Diagnostic Imaging Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Damian E. Dupuy

  2. Department of Surgery and Radiology Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA

    Yuman Fong

  3. McMullen Consulting, LLC, Surprise, Arizona, USA

    William N. McMullen

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Crocetti, L., Lencioni, R. (2013). Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation in the Treatment of Primary Liver Cancers. In: Dupuy, D., Fong, Y., McMullen, W. (eds) Image-Guided Cancer Therapy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0751-6_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0751-6_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0750-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0751-6

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