Abstract
Radio frequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive technique that has become recognized
in clinical practice for treating chondroblastoma, although curettage with bone graft
is the standard treatment. Chondroblastoma is a locally aggressive cartilaginous bone
tumor, representing nearly 5% of benign bone tumors. Chondroblastoma shows a preference
toward the epiphysis or apophysis of long bones, but it was also reported in vertebrae
and flat bones. The management of chondroblastoma could be challenging due to the
risk to injure the epiphyseal plate or difficult location. The aim of this study was
to determine if RFA is a suitable alternative to curettage with bone graft for the
treatment of chondroblastoma. Moreover, there will be an evaluation of RFA's effectiveness
in terms of symptoms relief; we also define the proper size of the lesion to be treated
with RFA, and discuss the complications after the procedure, including the recurrence
rate. Furthermore, we review the best imaging method to evaluate the therapeutic response
of RFA and for the detection of residual disease early after the ablation. A comprehensive
PubMed and Google Scholar search followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Review and Meta-Analysis 2020 checklist guidelines. Ninety-seven patients were identified
after reviewing the available full texts of nine articles. The results of the current
review provide further evidence to support the use of RFA as an alternative option
to surgery.
Keywords chondroblastoma - cartilaginous - cartilage - bone tumor - radio frequency ablation
