The mid-to-long term efficacy of radiofrequency ablation together with combination regimen for the treatment of hepatic carcinomas located at special or high-risk regions

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has now been one of the reliable and effective local therapies that are employed for patients with inoperable hepatic carcinoma or for patients who are unwilling to accept the surgical resection. Because of the particular locations of some hepatocellular carcinomas that are situated at the special or high-risk regions, the operation for these lesions are extremely difficult and the incidence of postoperative complications as well as the recurrence rate is unavoidably higher, meanwhile the complete necrosis rate of the tumors and the mid-to-long term survival rate of the patients are usually lower. RFA combined with a variety of combination therapies, such as transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI), targeted chemotherapy, etc. can improve the complete necrosis rate of such tumors as well as increase the mid-to-long term survival rate. This paper aims to make a general review in this respect. (authors)