Evaluation of percutaneous microwave hepatic tumor coagulation therapy (PMTC) under general anesthesia from viewpoint of quality of life (QOL)

: We evaluated clinical benefits (QOL and local control rate) of percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy conducted with general anesthesia. Five cases with hepatic tumor (3 cases with hepatocellular carcinoma, 2 cases with metastatic hepatic tumor) were enrolled. The day following treatment all patients were virtually free of complaints with performance status ranging 0 to 1, and they were discharged from the hospital within 1 week. Four of five cases could be controlled solely with this treatment: one case showed local relapse, the tumor size of which exceeded 3 cm. PMTC may be one of the most beneficial local treatments for malignant hepatic tumor, since it shortens hospital stay with a good QOL status, and is applicable to metastatic tumor.