A comparison of three different curative therapies for early-intermediate stage primary liver cancer analysis of 428 cases

Objective To compare the curative results of three different therapies for earlyintermediate stage primary liver cancer. Methods The data of 428 patients with early-intermediate stage primary liver cancer treated with one of three curative therapies from April 2004 to July 2010 in our center were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided non-randomly into three groups: group A liver-cancer resection (n = 231), group B radio-frequency ablation (RFA) (n = 63), and group C liver transplantation (n=134). The 1-, 3-, 5-year accululative survival and recurrence rate in each group were compared. Results The accumulative 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates were 93.3%, 71.9%, 57.2% for group A; 86.7%, 46.5%, 38.8% for group B; 95.7%, 78.3%, 72.1% for group C,respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-year recurrence rates were 30. 3% , 49. 7%, 68. 6% for group A; 39. 3% , 58. 7% , 79. 3% for group B; 7. 0% , 12. 1% , 12. 1% for group C,respectively. There was a highly significant difference between groups A, B and C in the survival rates and the recurrence rates. The 5-year survival rate was significantly higher for group C than group A and group B (P<0. 01, P<0. 001), and the recurrence rate of 1, 3, 5-years were significantly lower for group C than for group A and B (P<0. 001). Conclusion Liver transplantation was the most effective therapy for the early-intermediate stage primary liver cancer. Key words: Liver carcinoma; Hepatectomy; Radio-frequency ablation; Liver transplantation