Efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided radiofrequency, microwave and laser ablation for the treatment of T1N0M0 papillary thyroid carcinoma on a large scale: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

To analyze the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA) and laser ablation (LA) in T1N0M0 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients by evaluating data on several outcomes on a large scale.

Materials and methods

Literature searches were conducted in PUBMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library for studies of thermal ablation (TA) for treating T1N0M0 PTC. Data on the volume reduction rate (VRR) at the 12-month follow-up and final follow-up, complete disappearance rate, local recurrence rate, lymph node metastasis rate, and complication rate of RFA, MWA and LA were evaluated separately. RFA effects were compared between T1aN0M0 and T1bN0M0 patients.

Results

A total of 36 eligible studies were included. RFA presented superior efficacy than MWA in 12-month VRR. At the final follow-up, the difference was slight in subgroups, showing a significant reduction. The complete disappearance rate of LA (93.00%) was higher than that of RFA (81.00%) and MWA (71.00%). Additionally, the local recurrence rate pooled proportions of MWA and RFA were both 2.00%, lower than that of the LA group (3.00%). There was no event of distant metastasis. The lymph node metastasis rates were similar, as RFA (1.00%) had the lowest. For minor complication rates, the pooled proportions of RFA (3.00%) were smaller than those of LA (6.00%) and MWA (13.00%). T1aN0M0 lesions presented with better outcomes than T1bN0M0 lesions.

Conclusion

RFA, MWA and LA were reliable in curing PTC, and RFA presented advantages in most outcomes. T1aN0M0 patients may experience fewer side effects than T1bN0M0 patients.

Keywords:

• Thermal ablation
• radiofrequency ablation
• microwave ablation
• laser ablation
• papillary thyroid carcinoma
• ultrasound

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Xiaoxi Liu, Die Hu and Chenyang Kang for their clinical operational contributions in our study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

We confirmed that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and our supplementary materials.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the 345 Talent Project and Planting Project of Shengjing Hospital and Liaoning BaiQianWan Talents Program.