Sorafenib as adjuvant therapy following radiofrequency ablation for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma within Milan criteria: a multicenter analysis

摘要

Abstract Background Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is considered as a convenient treatment with mild damage in treating recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (RHCC). However, for patients with high risk of progression after RFA still needs new strategies to decrease the repeat recurrence.Methods A total of 460 patients with RHCC within Milan criteria in four institutions were enrolled. 174 pairs were enrolled after propensity score matching (PSM). Overall survival (OS) and tumor-free survival (TFS) were compared between the two groups. A quantitative score system was established to screen out the beneficial population from RFA–sorafenib treatment.Results The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 97.7%, 83.7%, 54.7% for RFA–sorafenib group, and 93.1%, 61.3%, 30.9% for RFA group after PSM, respectively. Compared with the RFA group, the RFA–sorafenib group had significantly better OS (P?