Editorial: is microwave ablation an alternative to liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma? Authorsʼ reply

He et al summarised their 2019 study by comparing microwave ablation to resection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within Milan criteria; their results differed in some respects from ours. 1– 3 In contrast to our study, they showed a higher tumour recurrence rate for the microwave ablation (MWA) group even in patients with small HCC ( < 3 cm). They concluded that it seems necessary to further restrict the target MWA population to reduce the recurrence risk. Mainly, according to the authors (early) recurrence- free survival is at least as important, if not more important, than overall survival.