Compared with microwave ablation (MWA), percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and laser ablation (LA) have been recommended as minimally invasive treatments for patients with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) because of the large number of clinical applications. This prospective multicenter study sought to evaluate the clinical outcomes of RFA and MWA for BTNs. In eight participating institutions, the total number of 1252 patients treated by RFA and MWA were 649 ones with 687 BTNs and 603 ones with 664 BTNs, respectively. The clinical outcomes including the nodular maximal diameter reduction ratio (MDRR), the nodular volume reduction ratio (VRR), and the incidence of complications were compared to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two techniques. The results for the nodular MDRR and VRR in the RFA group were significantly better than those in the MWA group at 6 months and later follow-up, and the major complication rates of 4.78% and 6.63% in RFA and MWA groups showed no statistically significant differences. In conclusion, both RFA and MWA are safe and effective techniques for selected patients with symptomatic BTNs. The achieved MDRR and VRR in the RFA group were greater than those in the MWA group at 6 months and later follow-up.

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PMWA is an effective, minimally invasive treatment for symptomatic leiomyomas that can significantly improve the quality of life of patients.

Introduction: Although being a promising technique for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, the 10-year efficacies of microwave ablation (MWA) are unknown. Objective: To assess whether the advances of MWA for HCC translated into a real-world survival benefit. Methods: This retrospective study included 2,354 patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0 to B from 5 hospitals, with at least 2 years of follow-up for all the patients. Recurrence and survival were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method with time-period stratification. Results: A total of 5,326 HCCs (mean diameter, 2.9 cm ± 1.2) underwent 4051 sessions of MWA with a median follow-up of 61.3 (ranging 0.6–169.5) months during three time-periods of 2007–2010, 2011–2014, and 2015–2018.Technical success was achieved in 5,194 (97.5%) tumors with significant improvement over time, especially for > 3.0 cm HCC (p <0.001). LTP showed no period-dependent advance and > 3.0 cm HCC and perivascular location were the risk factors for LTP. The median intra-hepatic metastasis time was 27.6 (95% CI 25.2–28.8) months, with 5- and 10-year occurence rate of 68.8% and 79.4%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year overall survival were 63.9% and 41.1%, respectively, and BCLC stage 0, A, B patients all with an observable survival improvement over time(p<0.001). The median disease-free survival time increased from 19.4 (95% CI 16.5–22.6) months in 2007–2010 to 28.1 (95% CI 25.9–32.3) months in 2015–2018. The improved survival for early recurrent (≤ 2 years)patients was period- dependent as verified by Cox regression analyses. The major complications rate per procedure was 2.2% (88/4051). Conclusions: These real-world data show MWA provided anupward trend in survivalfor HCC patients with BCLC stage 0–B over a 12-year follow-up time. A clear survival benefit in early recurrent patients was also observed encouragingly.

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