Single-centre survival analysis over 10 years after MR-guided radiofrequency ablation of liver metastases from different tumour entities

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimal-invasive, local therapy in patients with circumscribed metastatic disease. Although widely used, long time survival analysis of treated liver metastases is still pending while also analysing the patients’ experience of MR-based radiofrequency. METHODS: Monocentric, retrospective analysis of long-time overall and progression free survival (OS; PFS) of 109 patients, treated with MRI-guided hepatic RFA between 1997 and 2010, focusing on colorectal cancer patients (CRC). Complimentary therapies were evaluated and Kaplan Meier-curves were calculated. Patients’ experience of RFA was retrospectively assessed in 28 patients. RESULTS: 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-year OS rates of 109 patients with different tumour entities were 83.4%, 53.4%, 31.0% and 22.9%, median 39.2 months, with decreasing survival rates for larger metastases size. For 72 CRC patients 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-year OS rates of 90.2%, 57.1%, 36.1% and 26.5% were documented (median 39.5 months). Thereof, beneficial outcome was detected for patients with prior surgery of the CRC including chemotherapy (median 53.0 months), and for liver metastases up to 19 mm (28.5% after 145 months). Hepatic PFS was significantly higher in patients with liver lesions up to 29 mm compared to larger ones (p = 0.035). 15/28 patients remembered RFA less incriminatory than other applied therapies. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first single-centre, long-time OS and PFS analysis of MRI-guided hepatic RFA of liver metastases from different tumour entities, serving as basis for further comparison studies. Patients’ experience of MR based RFA should be analysed simultaneously to the performed RFA in the future.