Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Mar 13:4:49-58.
doi: 10.2147/JHC.S129063. eCollection 2017.

Irreversible electroporation of hepatocellular carcinoma: patient selection and perspectives

Asha Zimmerman  1 , David Grand  2 , Kevin P Charpentier  1
Affiliations
Review

Irreversible electroporation of hepatocellular carcinoma: patient selection and perspectives

Asha Zimmerman et al. J Hepatocell Carcinoma. .

Abstract

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel form of tissue ablation that uses high-current electrical pulses to induce pore formation of the cell lipid bilayer, leading to cell death. The safety of IRE for ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been established. Outcome data for ablation of HCC by IRE are limited, but early results are encouraging and suggest equivalency to the outcomes obtained for thermal ablation for appropriately selected, small (<3 cm) tumors. Long-term oncologic efficacy and histopathologic response data have not been published, and therefore, application of IRE for the treatment of HCC should still be viewed with caution.

Keywords: IRE; ablation; hepatic; liver; tumors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of review process. Abbreviations: HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; IRE, irreversible electroporation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Swine liver stained with triphenyltetrazolium chloride. Notes: Swine liver stained with triphenyltetrazolium chloride following irreversible electroporation with 2 monopolar electrodes. The dashed line highlights the dumbbell shape of the ablation zone.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Stewart BW, Wild CP, editors. World Cancer Report 2014. [Accessed October 1, 2016]. Available from: http://publications.iarc.fr/Non-Series-Publications/World-Cancer-Reports....
    1. Pompili M, Mirante VG, Rondinara G, et al. Percutaneous ablation procedures in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma submitted to liver transplantation: assessment of efficacy at explant analysis and of safety for tumor recurrence. Liver Transpl. 2005;11(9):1117–1126. - PubMed
    1. Mazzaferro V, Battiston C, Perrone S, et al. Radiofrequency ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation: a prospective study. Ann Surg. 2004;240(5):900–909. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Diehn FE, Neeman Z, Hvizda JL, Wood BJ. Remote thermometry to avoid complications in radiofrequency ablation. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2003;14(12):1569–1576. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carey RI, Leveillee RJ. First prize: direct real-time temperature monitoring for laparoscopic and CT-guided radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors between 3 and 5 cm. J Endourol. 2007;21(8):807–813. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources