Ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in treatment of neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases:a single-center experience

Purpose To investigate the local tumor control of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treating neuroendocrine tumor liver metastases (NETLM). Materials and methods From March 2011 to December 2020, 23 patients with 39 NETLM treated with percutaneous RFA were studied. The study assessed the therapeutic outcomes after RFA, including the rates of technical success, technical efficacy, major complications, local tumor progression (LTP) and overall survival. Cumulative LTP rates were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Results The technical efficacy rate was 91.3% (21/23) at one month after RFA. No major complication occurred in the treatment. LTP occurred in 50% (11/22) of patients who had complete ablation, with a median progression-free survival time of 15 months (1-61 months). Patients with Ki-67 < 5% had a longer progression-free survival than those with Ki-67 >= 5% (22.0 vs. 3.5 months, p<.001). Four patients, who had sporadic recurrent liver metastases, received 1-6 times of additional RFA after the initial treatment. Twenty patients were alive at the end of this study, except three patients withdrawn. The overall survival was at a median of 48 months (9-182 months). Conclusion RFA provides effective local tumor control with low morbidity and it can be applied repeatedly over years to control recurrence of NETLM. Patients with Ki-67 < 5% have better local tumor control with percutaneous RFA of NETLM.