The role of neoadjuvant conventional transarterial chemoembolization with radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after initial hepatectomy with microvascular invasion

Neoadjuvant cTACE could effectively reduce re-recurrence after RFA, and improve the long-term survivals for patients with solitary small recurrent HCC whose primary tumor was MVI-positive. Key pointsFor recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients whose primary tumor was positive for microvascular invasion, neoadjuvant conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) achieved better efficacy.Multivariable analyses showed that the interval of recurrence from initial treatment > 1 year and RFA alone were independent prognostic factors of overall survival and recurrence-free survival, respectively.