Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging in Diagnosing Liver Cancer in Patients With Cirrhosis

May 14, 2025 updated by: Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Evaluation of Focal Liver Lesions in Patients With Cirrhosis or Other Risk Factors for Developing HCC

This clinical trial studies how well contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging works in diagnosing liver cancer in patients with cirrhosis. Diagnostic procedures, such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging, may help find and diagnose liver cancer.

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 the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients at risk for HCC in a multicenter setting.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To validate CEUS Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) and determine the prevalence of HCC in each CEUS LI-RADS category.

II. To evaluate inter-reader reliability of CEUS for HCC diagnosis. III. To evaluate covariates that might limit diagnostic performance of CEUS for HCC diagnosis.

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.
612

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

  • Canada
      • Calgary, Canada, T2N 2T9
        • University of Calgary
  • France
      • Paris, France
        • University of Paris
  • Italy
      • Bologna, Italy, 40138
        • University of Bologna
  • Switzerland
      • Bern, Switzerland
        • University of Bern
  • United Kingdom
      • London, United Kingdom
        • King's College Hospital
  • United States
    • California
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92093
        • University of California San Diego
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19141
        • Albert Einstein Medical Center
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19107
        • Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37240
        • Vanderbilt University
    • Texas
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
        • University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98104
        • Swedish 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

21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Capable of making informed decisions regarding his/her treatment
  • Have known cirrhosis or other risk factors for HCC, based on American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) guidelines (applicable in each site jurisdictions)
  • Patients with untreated focal liver observations on liver ultrasound or multiphase contrast-enhanced CT or MRI performed as part of clinical standard of care within 4 weeks before patient enrollment.

OR

• Patients with untreated focal liver observations scheduled for follow-up multiphase contrast-enhanced CT or MRI, biopsy or surgical excision as part of clinical standard of care. CEUS should be performed within 4 weeks before or after follow-up imaging or within 4 weeks before biopsy or surgical excision.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are pregnant or lactating
  • Patients with focal liver observations less than 5 mm or greater than 5 cm in size
  • Patients with contraindications to CEUS
  • Patients with contraindications to both CT and MRI
  • Patients who are medically unstable, terminally ill, or whose clinical course is unpredictable
  • Liver nodule previously treated with trans-arterial or thermal ablation
  • Patients who have received an investigational drug in the 30 days before CEUS, or will receive one within 72 hour after their CEUS exam

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: Diagnostic
  • 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: Diagnostic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging (CEUS)
Patients receive sulfur hexafluoride IV and undergo CEUS imaging over 10 minutes.
Procedure: Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging
Undergo CEUS

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
Sensitivity of contrast-enhanced ultrasound evaluation (CEUS) for diagnosis of Hepatocellular cancer using a 95% confidence interval 95% confidence interval for HCC diagnosis using CEUS LR-5 classification
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
A value of 67% for sensitivity is expected based on recent meta-analysis studies of CEUS for focal liver mass characterization.
Up to 12 months
Specificity of contrast-enhanced ultrasound evaluation (CEUS) for diagnosis of Hepatocellular cancer using a 95% confidence interval
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
A value of 91% for specificity is expected based on recent meta-analysis studies of CEUS for focal liver mass characterization.
Up to 12 months
Positive Predictive Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound evaluation (CEUS) for diagnosis of Hepatocellular cancer using a 95% confidence interval
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
A value of 93% for Positive Predicative Value is expected based on recent meta-analysis studies of CEUS for focal liver mass characterization.
Up to 12 months
Negative Predictive Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound evaluation (CEUS) for diagnosis of Hepatocellular cancer using a 95% confidence interval
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
A value of 60% for Negative predictive value is expected based on recent meta-analysis studies of CEUS for focal liver mass characterization.
Up to 12 months

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.
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University

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)
GE Healthcare
Bracco Diagnostics, Inc

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: Andrej Lyshchik, MD, PhD, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University

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 (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.
January 19, 2018

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.
August 31, 2021

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.
November 3, 2022

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).
October 12, 2017

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.
October 18, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
October 23, 2017

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 18, 2025

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.
May 14, 2025

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.
May 1, 2025

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.
  • 17F.310
  • JT 10635 (Other Identifier: JeffTrial Number)
  • 1R01CA215520-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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