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Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Locally Recurrent Thyroid Carcinoma

  • Clinical Investigation
  • Non-Vascular Interventions
  • Published:
CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for non-surgical treatment of locally recurrent thyroid cancers, in both well-differentiated and medullary thyroid carcinomas (DTC and MTC) that are not amenable to traditional treatments.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of 48 patients with 103 recurrent tumors (81 DTC, 22 MTC) who underwent ultrasound-guided RFA. Patients were followed for 12–37 months to observe the outcomes and complications.

Results

64 tumors (62.1%) completely disappeared at the last follow-up visit with 61 (59.2%) being resolved within 12 months. Technical success (volume reduction ratio (VRR) > 50%) was 96% (n = 99) in all tumors. The mean largest diameter of treated tumors decreased from 11.2 ± 5.3 to 2.4 ± 3.4 mm (p value < 0.001), and the mean volume decreased from 501.0 ± 807.0 to 41.6 ± 97.1 mm3 at the last follow-up (mean VRR = 91%). Our patients had a 77.1% recurrence-free survival rate (11 recurrences, 7 DTC, 4 MTC), with an overall mean recurrence-free survival time of 34.6 months (95% confidence interval, 30.0–39.1). We observed 3 cases with complications (voice changes in DTC patients) that completely resolved during follow-ups.

Conclusion

RFA is a safe and effective alternative to repetitive surgeries in recurrent loco-regional DTCs as well as MTCs.

Level of Evidence

Level 3, Non-randomized controlled cohort/follow-up study.

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Data Availability

The datasets are available from the corresponding author upon editors’ request.

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Funding

This study was not supported by any funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Interventional Radiology and Radiation, Sciences Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Etemadzadeh St, West Fatemi St, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran

    Hossein Chegeni, Hojat Ebrahiminik & Hamid Malekzadeh

  2. Tirad Imaging Institute, Tehran, Iran

    Hossein Chegeni & Hojat Ebrahiminik

  3. Department of Endocrinology, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Mosadegh Khah

  4. Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hamid Malekzadeh

  5. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Vali-asr Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mehrshad Abbasi

  6. School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Kasra Molooghi

  7. Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Narges Fadaee

  8. Department of Radiology, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Jalal Kargar

Authors
  1. Hossein Chegeni
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  2. Hojat Ebrahiminik
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hojat Ebrahiminik.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Consent for Publication

Consent for publication was obtained for every individual person’s data included in the study.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required. The study protocol was approved by the biomedical research ethics committee of AJA University of Medical Sciences (IR.AJAUMS.REC.1399.216).

Informed Consent

This study has obtained IRB approval from the biomedical research ethics committee of AJA University of Medical Sciences and the need for informed consent was waived.

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Chegeni, H., Ebrahiminik, H., Mosadegh Khah, A. et al. Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Locally Recurrent Thyroid Carcinoma. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 45, 677–684 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-021-03042-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00270-021-03042-6

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