Liver Resection Outperforms Ablation in Multifocal Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Examining T2 multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (MHCC), researchers compared liver resection (LR) and tumor ablation (TA) in a cohort of 1225 patients. Despite higher 30-day mortality with LR, 10-year overall survival favored LR over TA (27.5% vs. 14.7%). Stratified analysis revealed significant benefits in patients with negative resection margins, no lymphovascular invasion, and a Charlson-Deyo score ≤1. Multivariable analysis confirmed LR’s independent association with improved long-term survival. These findings suggest that LR provides superior outcomes, particularly when transplantation is not an option.