Stereotactic Microwave Ablation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Impact of Tumor Size and Minimal Ablative Margin on Therapeutic Success.

Background: Microwave ablation (MWA) has gained relevance in the treatment of hepatic malignancies and especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and it is an important alternative to surgery. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether the minimal ablative margin (MAM) or the initial tumor size has a greater effect on the success of stereotactic MWA of HCC regarding the time to local tumor progression (LTP) and overall survival (OS).

Methods: 88 patients, who received stereotactic MWA of 127 tumor lesions with a curative intention were included in this single-center, retrospective study.