Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Liver Cancer That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

April 7, 2026 updated by: Montefiore Medical Center

A Pilot Study of Stereotactic Liver Irradiation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

This pilot clinical trial studies stereotactic body radiation therapy in treating patients with liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Stereotactic radiation therapy may be able to send x-rays directly to the tumor and cause less damage to normal tissue.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate feasibility and safety of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) of the liver for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate radiographic local response, local control and time to local progression (TTLP) of treated lesions in HCC patients after liver SBRT.

II. To evaluate overall survival (OS) and cancer specific survival (CSS) in HCC patients treated with liver SBRT.

III. To evaluate explanted irradiated liver tissue (for patients who proceed to liver transplantation) to determine extent of residual tumor and extent of radiation effects within and around the irradiated field.

OUTLINE:

Patients undergo SBRT every other day over 2 weeks (5 fractions total) in the absence of unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months and then every 6 months for up to 2 years.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
20

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • The Bronx, New York, United States, 10461
        • Albert Einstein College Of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Life expectancy > 3 months
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =< 2

  • HCC diagnosed by either of the following approaches:

    • Histologic confirmation of HCC on biopsy
    • Evidence of vascular enhancement of suspected lesion on at least two imaging techniques
    • Evidence of vascular enhancement on a single technique if the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is > 200 ng/mL in the setting of cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B/C

  • HCC must be deemed unresectable by an experienced surgeon or patient must be medically inoperable or extra-hepatic metastases must be present (making resection an inappropriate treatment option) or patient must have declined the option of surgery after consultation with a surgeon

    • Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer score of B or C required (i.e., intermediate or advanced stage HCC)
  • Prior liver resection or ablative therapy is permitted
  • Prior transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is permitted
  • Patients must have recovered from the effects of previous therapy
  • Maximal tumor size of 15 cm and > 700 cc of uninvolved liver
  • Hemoglobin > 9.0 g/L
  • Absolute neutrophil count >= 1.0 bil/L
  • Platelets >= 70,000 bil/L
  • Total bilirubin < 2 mg/dL
  • International normalized ratio (INR) =< 1.5 or correctable with vitamin K (higher INR acceptable if patient is on Coumadin)
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 6 times upper range of normal

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Active hepatitis or encephalopathy related to liver failure
  • Prior radiation therapy to the upper abdomen or thorax
  • Lesions within 1 cm from the stomach
  • Prior uncontrolled, life threatening malignancy within the previous 6 months
  • Pregnancy is not permitted; women of child-bearing age must undergo pregnancy testing prior to enrollment
  • Previous gastric, duodenal or variceal bleed within the past 2 months
  • Thrombolytic therapy within 4 weeks or commencement of anticoagulant use within the past 3 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment (SBRT)
Patients undergo SBRT every other day over 2 weeks (5 fractions total) in the absence of unacceptable toxicity.
Radiation: Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Undergo SBRT
Other Names:
  • Stereotactic External Beam Irradiation
  • stereotactic external-beam radiation therapy
  • Stereotactic Radiotherapy
  • stereotaxic radiation therapy
  • stereotaxic radiosurgery
  • Stereotactic Radiation Therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Severe Treatment-related Toxicity
Time Frame: Within 3 months of SBRT
The percentage of patients who have severe treatment-related toxicity will be computed, along with exact 95% confidence intervals. Severe toxicity will be defined as grade 4 or 5 hepatic toxicity, thrombocytopenia, or gastrointestinal toxicity, graded using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 3.0
Within 3 months of SBRT

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cancer Specific Survival (CSS)
Time Frame: Time from study entry to death from Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) progression, assessed up to 2 years
Cancer Specific Survival (CSS) was assessed in patients who were diagnosed with HCC and treated with liver SBRT as the percentage of patients with Cause-Specific Death from HCC. Patients alive at the end of the follow-up period were censored. Competing risk analysis was performed.
Time from study entry to death from Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) progression, assessed up to 2 years
Overall Survival (OS)
Time Frame: Time from study entry to death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years
Overall Survival, estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, reflected the percentage of patients who were were diagnosed with HCC and started SBRT treatment and were still alive at the conclusion of the study.
Time from study entry to death from any cause, assessed up to 2 years
Time to Local Progression (TTLP) of Treated Lesions
Time Frame: From date of first treatment dose to the first date of objective local progressive disease as defined by RECIST criteria, assessed up to 2 years
Time to Local progression (TTLP) of treated lesions in HCC patients after liver SBRT treatment was evaluated using Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST). For patients who died from the study disease without progression of the radiated lesion, time to local progression was censored at the date of death. For patients not known to have died as of the data cut-off date, and who did not have locally progressive disease, time to local progression was censored at the last progression-free disease assessment.
From date of first treatment dose to the first date of objective local progressive disease as defined by RECIST criteria, assessed up to 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Montefiore Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Nitin Ohri, Albert Einstein College Of Medicine

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 7, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 9, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 11, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 11, 2013

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 15, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 7, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2010-326 (Other Identifier: Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
  • P30CA013330 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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