Ten studies with 787 cases of RFA and 735 cases of surgical resection were included. The number of participants ranged from 44 to 434. Seven studies were retrospective (1,118 participants) and three were cohort studies (404 participants). Quality scores for all studies were between 7 and 9.
There was no statistical difference in survival at one year (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.36, I2=0%; seven studies), three years (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.51, I2=75.5%; eight studies) and the end of follow-up (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.48 to 1.39, I2=78.5%; nine studies). There was no difference in recurrence at one year (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.33, I2=54.2%; five studies) or three years (OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.63 to 2.27, I2=82.4%; six studies). Recurrence was higher (reported as lower in the abstract of the review) in the RFA group at the end of follow-up (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.87, I2=73.1%; eight studies).
There was no evidence of publication bias.