{"entity":{"id":"radiofrequency-ablation","kind":"term","name":"Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)","aka":["RFA","radiofrequency","thermal ablation","ablated","ablative"],"tldr":"Killing a tumour by heating it with an electrical current through a needle placed under image guidance, without removing it.","summary":"A probe delivers alternating current that heats tissue above 60°C, coagulating tumours up to about 3 cm. Standard for small hepatocellular carcinomas (equivalent to resection under 2-3 cm), colorectal liver metastases, small kidney tumours in comorbid patients, lung nodules, and Barrett's oesophagus after endoscopic resection. Limitations are the heat-sink effect near large vessels and incomplete ablation of larger lesions, which microwave ablation partly overcomes.","asOf":"2026-09-09","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiofrequency_ablation","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiofrequency_ablation"}],"tags":[],"related":["microwave-ablation","cryoablation","barretts-esophagus"],"cancers":["hcc","rcc","colorectal"],"sections":["surgery"],"technologies":["thermal-ablation"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Procedures"},"route":"/terms/radiofrequency-ablation/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"barretts-esophagus","kind":"term","name":"Barrett's oesophagus","route":"/terms/barretts-esophagus/"},{"id":"cryoablation","kind":"term","name":"Cryoablation","route":"/terms/cryoablation/"},{"id":"liver-directed-therapy","kind":"term","name":"Liver-directed therapy (TACE, TARE, HAI, ablation)","route":"/terms/liver-directed-therapy/"},{"id":"microwave-ablation","kind":"term","name":"Microwave ablation (MWA)","route":"/terms/microwave-ablation/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"hcc-early","kind":"cancer","name":"Early hepatocellular carcinoma (BCLC 0 and A)","route":"/cancers/hcc-early/"},{"id":"hcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Hepatocellular carcinoma","route":"/cancers/hcc/"},{"id":"rcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Renal cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/rcc/"}],"section":[{"id":"surgery","kind":"section","name":"Surgery & Interventional","route":"/fronts/surgery/"}],"technology":[{"id":"thermal-ablation","kind":"technology","name":"Thermal ablation (RFA, microwave, cryo)","route":"/technologies/thermal-ablation/"}],"trial":[{"id":"clocc","kind":"trial","name":"CLOCC","route":"/trials/clocc/"}]}}