Evaluation of microwave ablation of liver malignancy with enabled constant spatial energy control to achieve a predictable spherical ablation zone

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical performance of a new microwave ablation (MWA) system with enabled constant spatial energy control (ECSEC) to achieve spherical ablation zones in the treatment of liver malignancies.Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 56 hepatic tumours in 48 patients (23 men, 25 women; mean age: 59.6 years) were treated using a new high-frequency MWA-system with ECSEC. Parameters evaluated were technical success, technical efficacy, tumour diameter, tumour and ablation volume, complication rate, 90-day mortality, local tumour progression (LTP) at the 12-month follow-up, ablative margin and ablation zone sphericity. These parameters were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis test with the same parameters collected retrospectively from cohorts of patients treated with conventional high-frequency (HF) MWA (n = 20) or low-frequency (LF) MWA (n = 20).Results: Technical success was achieved in all interventions. The technical efficacy was 100% (ECSEC) vs. 100% (LF-MWA) vs...