The goal of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the results of imaging-guided percutaneous ablation in patients with controlled intrahepatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with limited extrahepatic disease.

Eleven patients with limited extrahepatic disease and/or potential short-term clinical manifestations with controlled primary intrahepatic HCC were included into the study. There were nine men and two women, with a mean age of 67.4 years±10.2 (SD) (range: 54–85 years). All patients had extrahepatic disease treated by either radiofrequency ablation or electroporation. Extrahepatic disease consisted of lymph node metastases (5 patients), tumor seeding along a needle tract (3 patients), adrenal gland metastasis, bone metastasis and pulmonary metastasis (one patient each).

Response to treatment was complete in 7/11 patients (64%). The mean survival time after treatment was 18.8±12.7 (SD) months (median, 16 months; range: 4–42 months). No severe complications associated with percutaneous treatment were observed.

Our results suggest that imaging-guided percutaneous ablation techniques should be considered as a useful option for the treatment of extrahepatic disease in patients with HCC. Further studies are needed, however to fully determine the potential role of these techniques in this elective application.