Efficacy and Safety of Microwave Ablation Assisted by Ultrasound Fusion Imaging for Primary and Secondary Liver Cancers with a Diameter of 3–7 Cm

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of microwave ablation (MWA) assisted by ultrasound fusion imaging (FI) for primary and secondary liver cancers with a diameter of 3–7 cm. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with primary and secondary liver cancers (3–7 cm) who underwent MWA with ultrasound FI assistance in our hospital from April 2020 to May 2022. Technical success, technique efficacy, local tumor progression (LTP), major complication, intrahepatic distant recurrence (IDR), and overall survival (OS) were assessed during the follow-up period. In addition, the ablation results of tumors between the medium-sized group (3.1–5.0 cm) and large-sized group (5.1–7.0 cm) were compared. RESULTS: 31 patients with 35 primary and secondary liver cancers were treated with MWA assisted by ultrasound FI. Complete ablation was achieved in 34 lesions with a technical success rate of 97.1%. Major complications occurred in 6.5% of patients (2/31), while no ablation-related deaths were reported. The median follow-up time of this study was 24 months (range:10 to 35 months). The technique efficacy rate was 97.1% (34/35), with LTP occurring in three lesions at a rate of 8.8% (3/34). The incidence of IDR was 38.7% (12/31) and the 2-year cumulative OS rate reached 96.7%. Moreover, there were no statistical differences in technique efficacy rate (p=0.286), LTP rate (p=0.328), major complication rate (p=0.503), IDR (p=0.857), and OS (p=0.118) between medium-sized group and large-sized group. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound FI-assisted MWA has the potential to be an effective and safe therapeutic strategy for primary and secondary liver cancers ranging from 3–7 cm in size.