ReviewCancers2020
Microwave Ablation Versus Radiofrequency Ablation for Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Cancers, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06096896 (The Efficacy and Safety of EOB-MRI Guided Microwave Ablation for Early HCC), which is not on this map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Efficacy and Safety of EOB-MRI Guided Microwave Ablation for Early HCC: A Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Thermal ablation for early-stage breast cancer: cryoablation, microwave ablation, radiofrequency ablation, high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation, and laser ablation - a systematic review.Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2026Pooled it
- Recombinant human adenovirus p53 combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for liver cancer: A meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Review
- Preserving Tradition, Preventing Cancer: A Narrative Review of the Traditional Mexican Diet as a Framework for Cancer Risk Reduction.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Review
- Percutaneous thermal ablation-based locoregional treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma larger than 3 cm: a 10-year single-center retrospective study.World journal of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Review
- MARGIN: Randomized Trial of Arterial CT Portography Versus Standard Imaging Guidance for Percutaneous Thermal Ablation of Colorectal Liver Metastases.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2026Article
- Comparative Outcomes of No-Touch Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Tumor-Puncture Microwave Ablation for Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Korean journal of radiology · 2026Article
- The Emerging Role of Ablation in the Treatment of Primary and Metastatic Cancer of the Liver.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Evaluating the echogenicity of ethyl cellulose-ethanol gel for tracking biodistribution during liver ablation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound-Guided Microwave Ablation for Iatrogenic Hepatic Hemorrhage: A Feasibility Study on Precision Hemostasis.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Hepatocellular carcinoma: updates on epidemiology, surveillance, diagnosis and treatment.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2025Review
- Microwave ablation for liver metastases from colorectal cancer: A comprehensive review of clinical efficacy and safety.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2025Review
- Comprehensive Guide to Randomized Controlled Trials in Radiology: Everything You Need to Know.The Indian journal of radiology & imaging · 2025Article
- Epidemiology, pathophysiology and clinical aspects of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in MAFLD patients.Hepatology international · 2024Review
- Non-Operating Room Anesthesia (NORA) for Ultrasound-Guided Liver Radiofrequency Ablation.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Tissue Ablation: Applications and Perspectives.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2024Review
- Electrochemotherapy with intravenous, intratumoral, or combined administration of bleomycin in the treatment of colorectal hepatic metastases in a rat model.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Review
- [Guidelines for image-guided ablation of primary liver cancer (2023 version)].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There are limited and discordant results on the comparison between microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This meta-analysis aims to compare the two treatments in terms of efficacy and safety, based on a meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs). A computerized bibliographic search was performed on the main databases throughout August 2020. The primary outcome was the complete response rate, while survival rate (at 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year), disease-free survival rate (at 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year), local and distant recurrence rate, adverse event rate, and number of treatment sessions were the secondary outcomes. Seven RCTs enrolling 921 patients were included. No difference in terms of complete response between the two treatments was observed (risk ratio (RR) 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.02). Survival rates were constantly similar, with RRs ranging from 1.05 (0.96-1.15) at 1 year to 0.91 (0.81-1.03) at 5 years. While local recurrence rate was similar between MWA and RFA (RR 0.70, 0.43-1.14), distant recurrence rate was significantly lower with MWA (RR 0.60, 0.39-0.92). Disease-free survival at 1, 2, and 3 years was similar between the two groups with RR 1.00 (0.96-1.04), 0.94 (0.84-1.06), and 1.06 (0.93-1.21), respectively. On the other hand, RR for disease-free survival at 5 years was significantly in favor of MWA (3.66, 1.32-42.27). Adverse event rate was similar between the two treatments (RR 1.06, 0.48-2.34), with bleeding and hematoma representing the most frequent complications. Our results indicate a similar efficacy and safety profile between the two techniques. MWA seems to decrease the rate of long-term recurrences, but this finding needs to be confirmed in further trials.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.