Page 166 - Read Online

Review

Microwave coagulation therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma
Microwave coagulation therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

Yong-Song Guan

Department of Oncology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China

ABSTRACT
Microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) is a relatively new method of tumor ablation compared to other minimally invasive local
therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is a thermal ablation modality based on the application of heat, potentially
leading to larger ablation zones. In recent years, there is a steady increase in the application of this modality to the treatment
of HCC because it offers several advantages in the management of tumors larger than 3 cm in diameter. This article reviews
the advances in MCT for the treatment of HCC in recent years including its brief history, basic principles, main technical
parameters, safety issues, current status in clinical application, limitations, and future perspectives.

Key words: Coagulation; hepatocellular carcinoma; microwave; treatment

Address for correspondence:
Prof. Yong-Song Guan, Department of Oncology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, 37 Guo Xue Xiang Street, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan,
China. E-mail: yongsongguan@126.com
Received: 21-03-2015, Accepted: 18-06-2015

INTRODUCTION procedure. [7,8] In recent years, MCT has attracted increasing
interests from clinicians for the treatment of HCC because
Microwave is an ultra-short and high-frequency this method provides the advantages of minimal invasiveness
electromagnetic wave with a wavelength range between and safety in humans. [9]
1 and 1,000 mm, and a frequency range between
300 and 300,000 MHz. [1,2] The most common frequency of This paper reviews the advances in using MCT for the
microwave used medically is 2,450, 915, and 433 MHz. [3,4] treatment of HCC in recent years, with emphasis on the basic
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common tumor with principles, and perspectives of this treatment modality for
a dismal prognosis and development of novel therapies future research.
[5]
were needed for improving the treatment of this disease.
Microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) is a relatively novel BRIEF HISTORY
method of tumor ablation compared with other minimally
invasive local therapies for HCC such as high-intensity focused In the late 1970s, some surgeons began to use microwave
ultrasound, irreversible electroporation, laparoscopic liver coagulation for the purpose of intra-operational hemostasis
resection, percutaneous ethanol injection, radiofrequency and tissue cutting when they found that as soon as the
ablation (RFA), and stereotactic body radiation therapy. temperature in the target area exceeded 60 °C the heat
[6]
This treatment method offers an easy-to-perform alternative will cause tissue solidification followed by cellular death.
[10]
option either in a percutaneous, laparoscopic or open surgical In 1988, the first experiment of microwave coagulation

Access this article online This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Quick Response Code Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows
Website: others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the
author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
http://www.hrjournal.net/
For reprints contact: reprints@medknow.com
DOI:
10.4103/2394-5079.164648 How to cite this article: Guan YS. Microwave coagulation therapy of
hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatoma Res 2015;1:159-64.

© 2015 Hepatoma Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 159