Radiofrequency Ablation for Pediatric Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-center Experience

Purpose: To summarize our single-center experience with percutaneous ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for pediatric recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (RHCC). Methods: : From September 2007 to September 2021, patients under 18 who underwent percutaneous US-guided RFA for RHCC were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Local effectiveness, complications, local tumor progression (LTP), progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. Results: : A total of 10 patients (9 male and 1 female; mean age, 11.7±4 years ; age range, 6-17 years) with 15 intrahepatic RHCC lesions were enrolled in this study. Complete ablation (CA) was achieved in 14 out of 15 lesions (93.3%) after the first RFA. During the follow-up (mean, 63.1±18 months; range, 5.3-123.3 months), LTP did not occur. Five patients died including three with tumor progression and one with liver failure. The accumulative one- and three-year PFS rates were 30% and 10%, respectively. The accumulative one- and three-year OS rates were 77.8 % and 44.4%, respectively. Conclusions: : Our single-center experience suggests the safety and feasibility of percutaneous US-guided RFA for pediatric RHCC.