Safety and Effectiveness of Image-Guided Therapies for Giant Hepatic Hemangiomas: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 2617 Patients.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of image-guided therapies-including transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), and percutaneous sclerotherapy (PS)-for the treatment of giant hepatic hemangiomas (GHHs).

Materials and methods: A comprehensive search was performed across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, including studies with ≥5 patients reporting image-guided treatment of GHHs. Primary outcomes included technical success, adverse events (AE; classified according to the Society of Interventional Radiology system), clinical success (symptom relief without additional intervention), and radiologic success (≥50% size reduction and/or lack of enhancement on follow-up imaging). A subgroup analysis was performed for GHHs ≥10 cm. Outcomes were analyzed using a random-effects meta-analysis.

Results: Twenty-eight studies (2,617 patients; 32.5% men; mean age: 46.1 ± 3.2 years) with 2,996 GHHs, ranging from 4 cm to 30 cm, were included. Of these, 22 were non-comparative, and 6 compared either two image-guided therapies or surgery, reporting outcomes for TACE (n = 13), RFA (n = 7), MWA (n = 6), and PS (n = 4). The pooled technical success rate was 99.9%. Grade 2-4 AEs occurred in 1.64%, with TACE having the lowest rate (0.2%) and RFA the highest (2.1%). Clinical success at final follow-up was 99.9%, while radiological success was 85.7%. Grade 2-4 AEs were significantly higher in the GHHs ≥10 cm subanalysis (10.6%; p < .001), despite similar technical success, radiological, and clinical outcomes.

Conclusion: Image-guided therapies are safe and effective for GHHs, achieving high technical, clinical, and radiological success with minimal grade 2-4 AEs. However, for GHHs ≥10 cm, AE rates were higher.