Efficacy of microwave ablation versus radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) by meta-analysis.

METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI and the Cochrane Library were searched from the establishment to May 2023, and studies that report outcomes with comparison between MWA and RFA in CRLM treatment were selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria. Furthermore, the perioperative and survival data were statistically summarized and analyzed by Review Manager 5.4.

RESULTS: Five studies (MWA: 316 patients; RFA: 332 patients) were evaluated. The results of meta-analysis showed that local tumor progression in MWA group was significantly lower than that in RFA group (P<0.05). The1-year and 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) of the MWA group was significantly better than that of the RFA group with HR of 1.77 (95% CI: 1.04-3.02; P=0.04) and1.60 (95% CI: 1.09-2.35; P=0.02), respectively.

CONCLUSION: The local tumor progression and 1-year and 2-year DFS of MWA were superior to RFA. The included articles were retrospective, offering low-quality evidence and limited conclusions.