ArticleTranslational cancer research2026
Comparative efficacy of liver resection
Article in Translational cancer research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
Background: The choice between liver resection (LR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≤3 cm remains controversial. This study evaluated whether alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) status modulates the comparative efficacy of these modalities using absolute benefit metrics. Methods: Patients with T1N0M0 HCC (≤3 cm) treated with LR or RFA were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program database. After 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Restricted mean survival time (RMST) and number needed to treat (NNT) were utilized to quantify the absolute clinical gain of LR over RFA. Results: Among 1,119 identified patients, 235 matched pairs were analyzed. LR demonstrated superior survival in the overall cohort (P<0.001). A significant interaction was observed between treatment modality and AFP status (P Conclusions: The superiority of LR over RFA in small HCC is significantly modulated by AFP-defined tumor biology. AFP-negative patients derive profound absolute survival gains from surgery, whereas benefits in AFP-positive cases are marginal, supporting RFA as a viable alternative for biologically aggressive tumors.
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