Cabozantinib to Treat Recurrent Liver Cancer Post Transplant

December 2, 2025 updated by: University Health Network, Toronto

A Phase II Trial of Cabozantinib in the Treatment of Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma Post Liver Transplant

This is a phase 2 study that will assess the investigational drug, cabozantinib, in patients with liver cancer (specifically hepatocellular carcinoma) and who had received a liver transplant as a part of curative care, but the cancer has come back (recurred). The purpose of this study is to see how useful cabozantinib is in controlling the disease of these patients.

Cabozantinib blocks the function of various proteins found on the surface of the body's cells (called receptor tyrosine kinases) that are important in the development of cancer tumors.

All participants will receive cabozantinib until they are no longer receiving benefit from the study drug or they experience an intolerable side effect.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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 study has three main parts:

Screening: Participants will have test, procedures, and assessments done for safety and eligibility. Some may be done for research purposes only. Several visits may be needed to complete the screening part of the study.

Study Drug Period: During this part, participants will take the study drug as prescribed by the study doctor. While on the study drug, participants will visit the clinic about once a week for tests, procedures, and assessments for safety, eligibility, and research only purposes.

End of Study Drug Visit and Follow-up: Participants will be asked to make an End of Study Drug visit about 30 days after the last dose of study drugs for safety, eligibility, and research only purposes. After this visit, participants will continue to have follow-up visits about every 8 weeks. If participants are experiencing side effects, they will be followed weekly for about 4 weeks, then monthly until resolution or stabilization.

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 (Estimated)

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.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2M9
        • Recruiting
        • Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
        • Contact:
          • Jennifer Knox, M.D.
          • Phone Number: 416-946-2399
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jennifer Knox, M.D.

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:

  • Have histologically or cytologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma that has recurred.
  • Previously underwent a liver transplant as a curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  • Not amenable to curative surgery or local treatment for recurrent disease.
  • Must have measurable disease.
  • No prior treatment with cabozantinib. May be systemic therapy naïve or have received up to 1 line of prior therapy for advanced HCC with sorafenib or lenvatinib.
  • Age ≥18 years.
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 01.
  • Life expectancy of >3 months.
  • Normal organ and marrow function.
  • Adequate cardiac function.
  • No evidence of active uncontrolled infection.
  • Understand and willing to sign written informed consent document.
  • Recovered from prior toxicities to < grade 1.
  • Able to take oral medications.
  • Agree to use effective contraceptive methods until at least 30 days (for women) and 3 months (for men) after the last administration of study medication. Serum pregnancy test should be negative.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Had systemic therapy or radiotherapy <3 weeks.
  • Receiving any other investigational agents.
  • With known brain metastases unless stable for >3 months.
  • History of allergic reactions attributed to cabozantinib.
  • Has uncontrolled, significant intercurrent or recent illness:
  • Cardiovascular disorders
  • Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders including those associated with a high risk of perforation or fistula formation
  • Major surgery within 2 months before randomization
  • Cavitating pulmonary lesion(s) or endobronchial disease (untreated)
  • Lesion invading a major blood vessel
  • Clinically significant bleeding risk <3 months
  • Other clinically significant disorders:
  • Active infection requiring systemic treatment, known infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or known acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related illness
  • Serious non-healing wound/ulcer/bone fracture
  • Malabsorption syndrome
  • Uncompensated/symptomatic hypothyroidism
  • Requirement for hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis
  • Pregnant women.
  • Any other condition that would, in the Investigator's judgment, contraindicate the patient's participation in the clinical study due to safety concerns or compliance with clinical study procedures
  • Active hepatitis B or C in liver graft
  • Patients with a grade >= 2 elevated liver enzymes who are suspected of cellular rejection will undergo biopsy. Patients diagnosed with cellular rejection in the biopsy sample using the Banff schema are ineligible.
  • Fibrolamellar carcinoma or mixed hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma
  • Moderate or severe ascites
  • Concomitant use of anticoagulants at therapeutic doses
  • Has a known history of prior invasive malignancy except if patient has undergone curative-intent therapy with no evidence of disease recurrence for 2 years prior to study entry.

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: Cabozantinib
Cabozantinib, at a dose of 60 mg orally (by mouth), once a day (at bedtime), continuously.
Drug: Cabozantinib
Cabozantinib is a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor with activity against VEGFR 1,2,3, MET and AXL, as well as RET, KIT, ant FLT-3.
Other Names:
  • CABOMETYX

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
Disease control rate
Time Frame: 4 months
Proportion of patients with complete response + partial response + stable disease.
4 months

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
Progression-free survival
Time Frame: 3 years
Duration of time from start of treatment to time of progression.
3 years
Overall survival
Time Frame: 3 years
Duration of time from start of treatment to time of death.
3 years
Number of Side Effects Reported
Time Frame: 3 years
Duration of time from start of trial until end
3 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.
University Health Network, Toronto

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.
Ipsen

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: Jennifer Knox, M.D., Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

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.

General Publications

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.
August 7, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
June 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
June 30, 2026

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).
December 17, 2019

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.
December 17, 2019

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.
December 19, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
December 3, 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.
December 2, 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.
December 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.
  • CaboTx
  • CAPCR 19-6312 (Other Identifier: University Health Network)

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

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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