Background : Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) is considered the standard surgical approach for resecting small hepatocellular carcinomas(HCC) located in the left lateral segments of the liver. However, few studies have compared laparoscopic left lateral liver resection and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in such cases.

Methods : We retrospectively compared the short-and long-term outcomes of 36 patients who underwent LLR and 50 patients who underwent RFA because of a newly diagnosed single, small (≤3 cm) HCC located in the left lateral segments of the liver.

Results : The higher OS rates in the LLR group were statistically significant relative to those in the RFA group (94.0% vs 78.8%, P = .040). Also, there was significant difference in the DFS rates between the two groups (P < .001), with 1-,3-, and 5-year DFS rates of 100%, 84.5%, and 74.4%, respectively, in the LLR group vs 85.0%, 45.9%, and 34.8%, respectively, in the RFA group.

Conclusions : For patients with a single, small HCC located in the left lateral segments of the liver, LLR was associated with better overall survival and disease-free survival compared with RFA.