Extracellular RNA Markers of Liver Disease and Cancer

April 29, 2026 updated by: Tushar Patel, Mayo Clinic
The study will examine and evaluate the use of extracellular RNA in blood as markers for the diagnosis of liver disease or cancer, and as markers for prediction of response to treatment or recurrence of cancer after surgery

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

The goal is to identify an extracellular RNA candidate for the detection and diagnosis of liver cancers such as hepatocellular cancer or biliary cancer, and chronic liver diseases. The use of selected exRNA biomarkers for diagnosis of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) or biliary tract cancers in patients with cirrhosis will be evaluated in a prospective case-control study. The study will create a registry of patients who have chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver and biliary tract cancers. A risk factor questionnaire will be administered to facilitate identification of risk factors for development of liver cancer. Patient information will be obtained from the medical record, and include demographics, medical history, liver disease, smoking and alcohol history, etiology, family history, and clinical laboratory data.

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.
Observational

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.
1865

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
    • Florida
      • Jacksonville, Florida, United States, 32224
        • Mayo Clinic Florida
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
        • The University of Chicago Medical Center
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic
    • Virginia
      • Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23249
        • McGuire VA Medical Center

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

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients undergoing evaluation at Mayo Clinic Florida Liver Transplant, Surgery, Oncology or Radiology clinics who have hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or biliary tract cancers, cirrhosis without HCC, or chronic liver disease without cirrhosis.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Lab results from within the previous 90 days.
  • Diagnosis of HCC or biliary tract cancer
  • Diagnosis of cirrhosis based on histology, imaging, or ultrasound.
  • Diagnosis of a chronic liver disease without cirrhosis.

Exclusion Criteria for the HCC/biliary tract cancer group:

  • Prior solid organ transplant.
  • Previous cancer history with the last 5 years (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), participation in a treatment trial for HCC

Exclusion criteria for the cirrhosis and chronic liver disease groups:

  • Prior solid organ transplant.
  • Previous or current cancer history within the past 5 years (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer).

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

  • Observational Models: Case-Control
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Blood samples will be collected at entry into the study and at varying intervals over a two to three year period.
Other: Blood samples
Blood samples collected at varying intervals over a two to three year period.
Biliary Tract Cancer
Blood samples will be collected at entry into the system and at varying intervals over a two to three year period.
Other: Blood samples
Blood samples collected at varying intervals over a two to three year period.
Cirrhosis
Blood samples will be collected during regular intervals over a three year period.
Other: Blood samples
Blood samples collected at varying intervals over a two to three year period.
Chronic Liver Disease without Cirrhosis
A single blood sample will be collected at entry into the study
Other: Blood samples
Blood samples collected at varying intervals over a two to three year period.

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
Diagnosis of liver cancer based on tumor markers and imaging studies.
Time Frame: Five years
The exRNA biomarker levels in the HCC and biliary tract cancer groups will be evaluated and compared to the exRNA biomarker levels present in the other groups, cirrhosis and chronic liver disease. Statistical analysis will be used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of these markers for the diagnosis of cancers based on findings of liver mass, imaging characteristics, size, and extent of viable tumor on imaging, or on elevated levels of tumor markers such as alpha-fetoprotein.
Five 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.
Mayo Clinic

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 Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

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: Tushar Patel, MBChB, Mayo Clinic

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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

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.
July 1, 2014

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.
April 2, 2024

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.
April 2, 2024

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).
September 14, 2016

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.
September 16, 2016

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.
September 20, 2016

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.
May 5, 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 29, 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

Keywords

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.
  • 14-004560

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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