Surgical Resection and Radiofrequency Ablation Yield Comparable Efficacy in Elderly Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The study examined the efficacy of surgical resection (SR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in elderly patients aged 65 or older. After propensity score matching, there was no significant difference in mortality rates between the two groups. Liver-related mortality was also similar. However, the SR group had significantly longer recurrence-free survival compared to the RFA group. Therefore, RFA was found to have a therapeutic effect comparable to SR in elderly patients with resectable HCC.