This systematic review evaluated radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of head and neck cancer. A systematic literature search in various databases was supplemented by a handsearch.
Overall, we identified one case series of 21 patients aged around 63 years with various recurrent or unresectable/inoperable head and neck cancer. Follow-up was about 44 days and the drop-out rate was 38%. Besides a marginal improvement in quality of life, the median survival was four months. There was a high rate (45%) of serious complications. Moreover, the procedure-related mortality was 5%.
Due to the uncontrolled study design of the included case series, the available evidence is insufficient for assessing the efficacy and safety of RFA compared to the respective standard therapy for the treatment of head and neck cancer.