Radiation dose in CT-guided microwave liver tumor ablation

Introduction. Ablation is one of most important methods of liver tumor treatment. However, radiation is one of disadvantages of CT-guided procedures including ablation. The purpose of this study is to assess the factors that have impact on radiation doses during CT-guided microwave liver tumor ablation. Material and methods. Radiation doses of CT-guided liver tumor ablations were collected in 127 patients. They were then compared in terms of number of lesions, lesion size and depth, use of additional localization needles and hydrodissection as well as tumor location. Results. The median radiation doses of ablations of multiple tumors (2348 mGy*cm) were significantly higher (p = 0.03) than those of single tumors (1784 mGy*cm). No statistically significant differences were noted when other factors (lesion size, depth, location, use of localization needles and hydrodissection) were taken into consideration. Conclusions. The number of lesions is the most important factor in terms of expected radiation doses in CT-guided microwave liver tumor ablations.