[Clinical outcomes of radiofrequency ablation combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-center experience].

Objective: To compare the effect of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with radiofrequency ablation alone for the treatment of 3 - 5 cm hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: From January 2006 to March 2010, sixty-two HCC patients were randomly treated with RFA combined with TACE (n = 32) or RFA alone (n = 30). This group included the patients who had Child-Pugh class A or B with three or fewer tumors, in which just one tumor size was 3 - 5 cm in diameter, and no evidence of extrahepatic tumor metastasis or macrovascular invasion.