Efficacy of radiofrequency ablation vs. transcatheter arterial embolization for hepatic hemangiomas.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of large hepatic hemangiomas (LHH) (5-9.9 cm in diameter).

Methods and materials: This study retrospectively collected data from 82 patients with LHH treated at Chaoyang Central Hospital. The study analyzed the differences in postoperative efficacy, operative time, blood routine, liver and kidney function on the first day after surgery, postoperative hospitalization time and postoperative complications.

Results: There were statistically significant differences in indicators such as white blood cell count, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and total bilirubin on the first day after surgery between the RFA group (39 cases) and the TACE group (43 cases) ( P  < 0.001). Compared to RFA, LHH patients treated with TACE had a general complication rate of 39.5% (vs. 43.6%; P  = 0.7), a procedure-related complication rate of 30.2% (vs. 59.0%; P  = 0.009), an effective rate at 6-12 months postoperatively of 55.8% (vs. 82.1%; P  = 0.01), an operating-time of 41.2 ± 14.9 min (vs. 100.8 ± 35.5 min; P  < 0.001) and hospitalization costs of 17052.7 ± 1364.8 yuan (vs. 30952.1 ± 4327.6 yuan; P  < 0.001).

Conclusion: This study indicates that the efficacy of RFA in treating LHH is significantly superior to TACE. Microwave ablation and RFA appear to be safe treatments for LHH. The TACE group exhibited shorter operating-time, lower hospitalization costs and lower demands on cardiopulmonary function.