Abstract: Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval and consent to participate were not needed because this is a meta-analysis based on published papers. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence (bias) the work reported in this paper. Although several co-authors are employed by the 928 Hospital, the hospital provided no funding, had no role in study design, data extraction, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit for publication. All analyses were performed independently by the authors, and no author has any proprietary or commercial interest in microwave ablation equipment or related technology.
Objective: This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) located at specific anatomical sites of the liver compared with non-specific sites.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted across five databases, covering literature from database inception to September 30, 2024. Eligible studies included prospective and retrospective cohorts involving ultrasound-guided percutaneous MWA for HCC. Data extraction and analysis were performed using Stata 15.1. The primary outcomes were 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates, complete ablation rates, and incidence of major complications. Pooled results were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: Nine studies involving 2,381 patients were included. Among them, 1,047 patients had HCC located at specific anatomical sites, and 1,334 at non-specific sites. The pooled ORs (95% CI) for OS at 1, 3, and 5 years were 0.89 (0.59-1.35), 0.83 (0.66-1.05), and 1.12 (0.91-1.38), respectively. The OR for complete ablation was 0.97 (0.61-1.53), and for major complications, 1.44 (0.59-3.51).
Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous MWA demonstrates comparable efficacy and safety for treating HCC at specific anatomical sites of the liver relative to non-specific sites, with no statistically significant differences in survival outcomes, ablation success, or complication rates.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)
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