Follow-up

Patients treated with radical resection, RFA, or radiotherapy underwent enhanced CT, ultrasonography, or MRI every 3–4 months to screen for recurrence; appropriate treatment was administered if recurrence was confirmed. For patients treated with TACE, tumor responses were evaluated regularly; if residual lesions were found, another round of TACE was performed after 1 month. TACE was performed until a patient could no longer tolerate the procedure or achieved a complete response. The patients were followed up every 3–4 months with regular laboratory tests and imaging. OS was defined as the interval between the date of initial treatment and that of the last follow-up visit or death. The final follow-up date was January 31, 2017; none of the patients were lost to follow-up.