Early Intrahepatic Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Metastasis to Lung and Brain after Radiofrequency Ablation

Kim, Jin Dong; Kwon, Jung Hyun; Bae, Si Hyun; Choi, Jong Young; Yoon, Seung Kew; Lee, Young Jun; Rha, Sung Eun; Chun, Ho Jong; Choi, Byung Gil; Lee, Hae Giu

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Liver Cancer Study 2009;9(1):37-40.
Published online June 30, 2009.

Early Intrahepatic Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Metastasis to Lung and Brain after Radiofrequency Ablation

Jin Dong Kim¹, Jung Hyun Kwon¹, Si Hyun Bae¹, Jong Young Choi¹, Seung Kew Yoon¹, Young Jun Lee², Sung Eun Rha², Ho Jong Chun², Byung Gil Choi², Hae Giu Lee²

¹Departments of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
²Departments of Radiology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence: Si Hyun Bae,
Email: baesh@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the preferred method of local ablation for patients with small (<3 cm sized) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) when surgical resection cannot be applied. If RFA procedure is sufficiently completed, it provides lower local tumor recurrence, and longer overall as well as disease-free survival. We experienced a case of early stage HCC which recurred at 2 months after successful RFA procedure, and rapidly metastasized to lung and brain.

Key Words: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Radiofrequency ablation; Recurrence; Metastasis

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