Expanded treatment of hepatic tumors with radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation.

Three definitive treatment options are available for patients with hepatic tumors: hepatic resection, tumor ablation, and hepatic transplantation. Ablative techniques--including radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoablation--have greatly improved physicians' ability to definitively treat patients with primary and secondary hepatic tumors. Both RFA and cryoablation are safe and well-tolerated, but the effectiveness for local tumor eradication depends on many factors, including tumor size, location, number, and type. The choice of ablation modality is based on user and institutional biases. Assessing outcome after ablation is difficult because few studies with good long-term follow-up have evaluated local recurrence, disease-free survival, and overall survival after ablation. This and other limitations make it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions.