Radiofrequency Thermal Ablation of Liver Tumors: Impact of Large Vessels

Surgical resection is the golden standard for treatment of both primary and metastatic liver tumors, and the method is associated with the highest long-time survival rates [1]. A large number of patients are however not candidates for tumor resection, for example due to un-sufficent hepatic reserve or tumor location relative to large blood vessels. In those cases, an alternative treatment strategy is to heat the tumor(s) to lethal temperatures by means of Radiofrequency (RF) current.Copyright © 2008 by ASME