Efficacy and Safety of Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Ablation for Adrenal Metastases: A Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous ablation (US-PA) for adrenal metastases (AMs) using a meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase electronic databases was performed to identify studies on US-PA for AM. Seven studies published between January 2000 and August 2022 were analyzed, which resulted in a sample size of 140 patients. Both random effects and common effects meta-analysis models were used to analyze the following efficacy and safety outcomes: the first and secondary technical success rate, 1-year overall survival rates, 1-year local tumor control rate, incidence rate of intraoperative hypertensive crises, and major complications. The subgroup analysis was performed to explore the origin of heterogeneity.

Results: Among 140 patients from 7 studies included in this meta-analysis: 51 (36.43%) underwent radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and 89 (63.57%) underwent microwave ablation (MWA). Pooled data analysis revealed that the first and secondary technical success rates were 85% (95% confidence interval [CI], 73-96) and 99% (95% CI, 96-100), the 1-year overall survival rate was 83% (95% CI, 71-93), the 1-year local tumor control rate was 83% (95% CI, 75-90), and the incidence rate of intraoperative hypertensive crises was 14% (95% CI, 8-20). The overall rate of major complications was 3.6%. In the subgroup analysis, lower heterogeneity was indicated to be associated with mean tumor size and ablation type.

Conclusions: This meta-analysis showed that US-PA can be both effective and safe for AM in terms of overall survival, technical success rate, and local control for AM.