Percutaneous microwave ablation of hepatic tumors: is there an impact of cirrhotic liver parenchyma upon the volume and short-term assessment of the ablation zone?

To retrospectively compare and evaluate ablation zone volume and its reduction from baseline to 1 month follow-up post-percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) between healthy and cirrhotic liver parenchyma. Institutional database research identified 84 patients (118 hepatic tumors) who underwent percutaneous MWA with the same system. Caudal-right lobe ratio was applied to distinguish cirrhotic ( There was no significant difference comparing ablation zone volumes at baseline (healthy group: mean ablation volume 14.84 cm³ Percutaneous MWA results in ablation zones of a comparable volume in both healthy and cirrhotic liver parenchyma. Both cirrhotic and healthy liver parenchyma experience a similar significant reduction of ablation zone volume at 1 month post-therapy. This study evaluates and compares the volume of the ablation zone after MWA between healthy and cirrhotic liver parenchyma from baseline to 1 month follow-up and attempts to identify potential differences. It is the first study to demonstrate significant shrinkage of ablation volumes in healthy livers as compared to cirrhotic livers after 4 weeks of follow-up. The results of this study can help us understand the effect of MWA when applied in different backgrounds of liver parenchyma, which could lead to different treatment planning.