Characterizing Tumor Hypoxia With BOLD-MRI to Predict Y-90 Treatment Response (BOLDMRI)

October 29, 2026 updated by: UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Characterization of the Hypoxic Tumor Microenvironment With Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Prediction of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Response to Yttrium-90 Selective Internal Radiation Therapy

The purpose of this study is to find out whether a special type of magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI), called blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI, can help measure how much oxygen is present in liver tumors. Tumors with low oxygen levels are described as being hypoxic.

Yttrium-90 (Y-90) is a type of radioactive material used to treat liver tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer. Y-90 is a form of radiation treatment delivered directly to liver tumors through tiny beads carried by blood vessels. These beads release radiation that damages and kills cancer cells while helping limit radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. This treatment is also called Y-90 radioembolization or selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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 will include 12 patients with liver tumors confirmed by biopsy to be hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer, who are scheduled to receive Y-90 selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), a treatment that delivers radiation directly to the tumor through blood vessels. Before treatment, participants will undergo a research MRI scan. A sample of their previously biopsied tumor tissue will also be examined in the laboratory to measure signs of low oxygen levels. The researchers will compare the MRI findings with the tissue results to determine whether BOLD MRI can reliably assess oxygen levels in liver tumors and may help predict how well the tumors respond to Y-90 treatment.

Standard-of-care Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE MRI) will be performed separately according to routine clinical practice before and after the Y90-SIRT procedure. BOLD MRI will be performed on a separate day after the pre-SIRT DCE MRI.

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.
12

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 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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
        • UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Alexander Villalobos, MD
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Bryan Harris, MD

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

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Subjects must meet all the inclusion criteria to participate in this study.

  • Adults ≥ 18 years
  • Liver mass(es) suspected of being HCC by imaging and are amenable to undergo percutaneous liver mass biopsy to confirm the HCC diagnosis, as determined by the institutional multidisciplinary tumor board.
  • At least 1 tumor ≥ 2 cm and deemed to benefit from Y90 radioembolization by the institutional multidisciplinary tumor board.
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤2 (Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) ≥60%)
  • Life expectancy ≥6 months, as determined by the investigator.

Exclusion Criteria:

All subjects meeting any of the exclusion criteria at baseline will be excluded from study participation.

  • Definite liver transplant candidate
  • Concurrent secondary malignancy
  • Distant metastasis

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: Hepatocellular carcinoma

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are scheduled to receive Y-90 selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT),
Diagnostic test: Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI)

BOLD MRI will include 2D and 3D multi-echo gradient-echo sequences covering the liver, using body phased-array coils and breath-hold techniques. Imaging parameters may be adjusted as needed to optimize tumor visualization while maintaining data quality.

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
The number of successful novel blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Time Frame: Baseline

The number of successful novel blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method for evaluating the level of tumor tissue hypoxia in patients with liver tumors.
Baseline

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
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) hypoxia classification based on blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Time Frame: Baseline

Calculation of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) hypoxia classification.
Baseline

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.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

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: Alexander Villalobos, MD, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Principal Investigator: Bryan Harris, MD, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

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 (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.
November 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.
December 31, 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.
December 31, 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).
October 29, 2026

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 29, 2026

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.
November 4, 2026

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.
November 4, 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.
October 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.
October 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.
  • LCCC2446

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

Yes

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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