Expert consensus on local ablation therapies for primary liver cancer

Local ablation therapies are procedures that, guided by medical imaging technology, localize the targeted tumor and then kill tumor tissues through the local application of physical and/or chemical methods. The imaging technology includes ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the ablation can be performed through percataneous, laparoscopic, or open surgery. Local ablation has two advantages: First, it can act directly on tumor and thus is highly effective and efficient; second, the efficacy of this treatment is only confined on tumor and its neighboring tissues, with limited effect on human body, and therefore can be repeatedly applied. After the rapid development during the past two decades, local ablation therapy has became the third most promising local treatment (immediately after surgical resection and intervention) for primary liver cancer. Notably, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is as effective as surgical resection but is simpler and safer in treating small hepatocellular carcinoma (SHCC). Therefore, RFA has been recognized as one of the radical treatment for SHCC and been widely applied in China.