We evaluated the long-term survival results and safety of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy, and assessed the prognostic factors that can influence its long-term therapeutic results.

One hundred and two patients, who had 119 recurrent HCC in their livers, underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous RFA. All the patients had a history of hepatic resection as a first-line treatment modality for HCC. The mean diameter of the recurrent tumors was 2.0 cm (range, 0.8–5.0 cm). We evaluated the effectiveness rates, local tumor progression rates, survival rates, and complications. We also assessed the prognostic factors of the survival rates by using Cox proportional hazard models.

The primary effectiveness rate was 93.3% (111 of 119). The cumulative rates of local tumor progression at 1, 3, and 5 years were 6.0, 8.6, and 11.9%, respectively. The cumulative survival rates at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years were 93.9, 83.7, 65.7, 56.6, and 51.6%, respectively. Patients with a lower serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) level (≤100 μg/L) before RFA or with small resected tumors (≤5 cm) demonstrated better survival results (P < .05). There was only one major complication (liver abscess, 1.0% per treatment) during the follow-up period. There were no procedure-related deaths.

Percutaneous RFA is an effective and safe treatment modality for intrahepatic recurrent HCC after hepatectomy. Serum AFP level before RFA and resected tumor size were significant prognostic predictors of long-term survival.