Efficacy Evaluation of Microwave Ablation Assisted by Diaphragm Hydrodissection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Comparative Analysis With Surgical

September 7, 2026 updated by: Dezhi Zhang, The First Hospital of Jilin University

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the local efficacy and safety of hydrodissection-assisted microwave ablation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, and to compare its therapeutic outcomes with surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Is hydrodissection-assisted microwave ablation safe and effective for treating hepatocellular carcinoma? How does the therapeutic effect of hydrodissection-assisted microwave ablation compare with surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma? Patients who receive either microwave ablation or surgical resection will Undergo a 2-year follow-up period.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: dezhi Zhang Associate Chief Physician, MD
  • Phone Number: +8618186876068
  • Email: dezhi@jlu.edu.cn

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent diaphragm hydrodissectionassisted microwave ablation or surgical resection at our hospital. All patients were definitively diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma based on combined imaging and pathological findings.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:Patients with Child-Pugh grade A or B liver function.Single hepatic lesion with a maximum diameter ≤ 5 cm.The lesion is located in the subphrenic region with a distance ≤ 10 mm from the right diaphragm.

Exclusion Criteria:Presence of extrahepatic metastasis or other concomitant malignant tumors.Presence of severe cardiac, pulmonary, or renal dysfunction.Platelet count < 50×10⁹/L with irreversible coagulation disorders. Patients with incomplete imaging or clinical medical data.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Hydrodissection-assisted microwave ablation cohort
Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving hydrodissection-assisted microwave ablation under routine clinical care. No study-specific intervention will be assigned by researchers.
Procedure: Microwave Ablation Assisted by Diaphragm Hydrodissection
For subphrenic hepatocellular carcinoma treated with microwave ablation, ultrasound-guided injection of normal saline into the diaphragm is performed during ablation to establish a hydrodissection barrier and optimise lesion visualisation.
Surgical resection cohort
Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving surgical resection under routine clinical care. No study-specific intervention will be assigned by researchers.
Procedure: Surgical Resection
Patients with subphrenic hepatocellular carcinoma who undergo surgical resection are managed according to clinical diagnostic and therapeutic standards for hepatocellular carcinoma.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Progression-free survival (PFS)
Time Frame: Up to 2 years after treatment
the time from initiation of treatment to disease progression or death.
Up to 2 years after treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall survival (OS)
Time Frame: Up to 2 years after treatment
the time from initiation of treatment to death, loss to follow-up, or last follow-up.
Up to 2 years after treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The First Hospital of Jilin University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 7, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2026-362

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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