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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.

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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

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