Stereotactic body radiotherapy versus laparoscopic liver resection for single hepatocellular carcinoma ≤ 5 cm: a retrospective, multicenter, cohort study.

This retrospective study compared stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) in 383 patients with single hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≤5 cm.

After propensity score matching, 98 patients per group were analyzed.

Key findings:

• LLR demonstrated significantly better overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) at 1, 3, and 5 years compared to SBRT.
• For tumors ≤3 cm and perivascular tumors, SBRT showed comparable outcomes to LLR.

The findings support LLR as the preferred treatment for single HCC ≤5 cm, with SBRT as a viable alternative for smaller or perivascular lesions.