Objective:To compare the prognosis of percutaneous versus laparoscopic microwave ablation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) classified as Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0 to A, and evaluate the impact of these two ablation modalities on treatment outcome.Methods:Clinical data of 198 patients with HCC of BCLC stages 0 to A undergoing microwave ablation treatment at the Second Hospital of Jiaxing and Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2011 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, including 149 males and 49 females, aged (57.4±9.6) years. Patients were divided into two groups based on the treatment modality: percutaneous microwave ablation group ( n=133) and laparoscopic microwave ablation group ( n=65). Survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to compare survival rates. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox regression to assess the impacts of percutaneous and laparoscopic microwave ablation on prognosis. Results:The median overall survivals for the percutaneous and laparoscopic microwave ablation groups were 54 months and 77 months, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative survival rates postoperatively were 95.6%, 67.3%, 47.4% for the percutaneous group, and 100.0%, 79.9%, 60.4% for the laparoscopic group, respectively, with the latter showing superior cumulative survival rates ( χ2=4.53, P=0.033). The median recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 27 months for the percutaneous group and 52 months for the laparoscopic group. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS postoperatively were 67.4%, 41.1% and 32.8% for the percutaneous group, and 81.5%, 58.1%, and 46.7% for the laparoscopic group, respectively, with the latter showing superior RFS, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=7.20, P=0.007). Multivariate analysis indicated that percutaneous microwave ablation was associated with an increased risk of death ( HR=2.475, 95% CI: 1.423-4.305, P=0.001) and recurrence ( HR=1.996, 95% CI: 1.255-3.176, P=0.004). Conclusion:Laparoscopic approach was superior to percutaneous microwave ablation in patients with HCC of BCLC stages 0 to A, and percutaneous microwave ablation could be a risk factor for poor prognosis in these patients.

With the deepening of the concept of precise and minimally invasive treatment for liver cancer, local thermal ablation is playing an increasingly important role in the comprehensive treatment of liver cancer and is becoming a new way to kill tumor cells. It can not only directly inactivate tumor cells, but also induce specific antitumor immunity. However, the immune response induced by thermal ablation is often at a low level, which is not sufficient to prevent tumor progression. Thermal ablation combined with transhe-patic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and immunotherapy can significantly improve antitumor immunity, delay the recurrence and metastasis of tumors, and provide new ideas for the treatment of liver cancer, especially advanced liver cancer. It has a broad applica-tion value. In this review, the progress of thermal ablation in immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma is reviewed.