Diagnostic Accuracy of Folate-Targeted NIR-II Carbon Dots for Ex Vivo HCC Detection

December 7, 2025 updated by: Jiwei Huang, West China Hospital

Application of Folic Acid-Targeted Near-Infrared-II (NIR-II) Carbon Dots in Ex Vivo Histopathological Analysis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

This prospective, single-center observational study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of a novel Folate-targeted Near-Infrared II Carbon Dot (FA-CDots) probe for the ex vivo assessment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Following standard radical hepatectomy, resected liver specimens will be incubated with the FA-CDots probe and imaged using a NIR-II fluorescence system. The study aims to determine the feasibility and accuracy of this technology in identifying tumor margins and micro-lesions by comparing the fluorescence imaging results with standard histopathological examination.

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.

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 (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

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

  • China
    • Sichuan
      • Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 610041
        • Recruiting
        • West China Hospital
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients aged 18-80 diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are scheduled for radical hepatectomy

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Primary diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) confirmed clinically or by preoperative biopsy.
  2. Scheduled for radical hepatectomy.
  3. Preoperative imaging (CT/MRI) suggests indistinct tumor boundaries, infiltrative growth, or proximity to major vessels (expected margin < 1cm).
  4. Liver function classified as Child-Pugh Grade A.
  5. ASA Physical Status classification I-III.
  6. Participant or legal guardian willing to sign informed consent for the use of ex vivo tissues.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Concomitant other malignant tumors.
  2. Severe dysfunction of heart, lung, kidney, or brain unable to tolerate surgery.
  3. Recurrent HCC.
  4. Preoperative evidence of extrahepatic metastasis or major vascular invasion.
  5. Received preoperative anti-tumor therapy.
  6. Pregnant or lactating women.

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

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.
Intervention group
Patients undergoing standard curative hepatectomy for HCC. Their resected tumor specimens will be used for ex vivo fluorescence imaging analysis.
Diagnostic test: Ex Vivo FA-CDots Staining
The resected liver specimens are incubated with Folate-targeted Near-Infrared II Carbon Dots (FA-CDots) and imaged using a NIR-II fluorescence imaging system to identify tumor margins and micro-lesions. The results are compared with standard histopathology.

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
Diagnostic Performance of FA-CDots (Sensitivity, Specificity, and AUC)
Time Frame: Immediate ex vivo analysis post-surgery

Evaluate the accuracy of FA-CDots in distinguishing HCC tissue from normal liver tissue.

Metric: Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC), Sensitivity, and Specificity.

Calculation: Based on the Signal-to-Background Ratio (SBR) of the fluorescence images. A "Positive" result is defined as an SBR > 2.0 (threshold to be optimized).

Gold Standard: The diagnosis is verified by standard histopathological examination (H&E staining) of the corresponding tissue sites.
Immediate ex vivo analysis post-surgery

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.
West China Hospital

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 (Estimated)

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 1, 2026

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.
April 1, 2027

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.
October 1, 2027

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 7, 2025

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 7, 2025

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, 2025

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.
December 19, 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 7, 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

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.
  • JHuang20234

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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