PLoS ONE (Jan 2014)

Management of spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinomas in the radiofrequency ablation era.

  • Tan To Cheung,
  • Ronnie T P Poon,
  • Kenneth S H Chok,
  • Albert C Y Chan,
  • Simon H Y Tsang,
  • Wing Chiu Dai,
  • Thomas C C Yau,
  • See Ching Chan,
  • Sheung Tat Fan,
  • Chung Mau Lo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094453
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 4
p. e94453

Abstract

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Background and aimSpontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) carries a high mortality. The use of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in recent years has enriched the armamentarium for hemostasis of spontaneously ruptured HCCs but its results have not been documented. This study investigated the prognosis and outcome of spontaneous rupture of HCC as well as the results of using RFA for hemostasis.Patients and methodFrom January 1991 to December 2010, 5283 patients were diagnosed with HCC at our hospital, and 189 of them had spontaneous rupture of HCCs. They were grouped under two periods: period 1, 1991-2000, n = 70; period 2, 2001-2010, n = 119. RFA was available in period 2 only.ResultsHepatitis B virus infection was predominant in both periods. Surgical hemostasis was mainly achieved by hepatic artery ligation in period 1 and by RFA in period 2. The 30-day hospital mortality after surgical treatment was 55.6% (n = 18) in period 1 and 19.2% (n = 26) in period 2 (p = 0.012). Multivariate analysis identified 4 independent factors for better overall survival, namely, hemostasis by transarterial embolization [corrected] (hazard ratio 0.516, 95% confidence interval 0.354-0.751), hemostasis by RFA (hazard ratio 0.431, 95% confidence interval 0.236-0.790), having surgery as a subsequent treatment (hazard ratio 0.305, 95% confidence interval 0.186-0.498), and a serum total bilirubin level ConclusionThe use of RFA for hemostasis during laparotomy greatly reduced the hospital mortality rate when compared with conventional hepatic artery ligation.