Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Tetrathiomolybdate

June 23, 2005 updated by: National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly tumor for which the incidence is increasing in the United States, primarily due to prevalence of hepatitis C infection. An important aspect of the development of HCC is that it occurs in patients who have underlying cirrhosis of the liver, thereby limiting the therapeutic options. There is potential curative treatment for these patients, such as resection of the tumor lesion and liver transplantation, but these treatments are feasible in a small percent of patients only. Furthermore, the majority of the patients with HCC are also not candidates for palliative treatments such as percutaneous ablation of the tumor, chemotherapy or radiation. Additionally, it has been shown that these palliative treatment modalities do not alter survival, and are associated with significant risks. Therefore, there are no treatment options for most patients with HCC. A new theory has emerged in the fight against cancer through inhibition of angiogenesis (development of new blood vessels). The hypothesis being that if there is no blood supply "feeding" the tumor cells cannot divide or survive. One such approach, pioneered in this institution by Drs. George Brewer and Sofia Merajver, is the anticopper approach using the medication tetrathiomolybdate (TM). By creating a mild copper deficiency state, several pathways required for angiogenesis are inhibited. They performed a Phase I trial in which patients with metastatic cancer were treated with TM resulting in decrease tumor vascularity. TM had excellent safety profile in this patient population. HCC is well known to be a hypervascular tumor. An antiangiogenesis approach might provide a novel treatment for this HCC. This is a pilot study of 10 patients with HCC who are not candidates for curative surgical therapy with resection or liver transplantation, nor for ablative techniques. Patients seen in the General Liver clinic and Liver Transplant clinic who have an overall good performance status, with an expected survival of more than 6 months will be enrolled. After an initial evaluation, they will be given 120 mg/day of TM in divided doses for one year. The size and vascularity of the tumor will be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The primary outcome of this study is to prevent tumor progression.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109-0362
        • 3912 Taubman 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with definite diagnosis of HCC based on a Dynamic MRI revealing a vascular mass in the liver and histologic confirmation of HCC.
  • Patients who are not candidates for surgical resection, OLT or radiofrequency ablation.
  • Patients with no prior treatment for HCC.
  • Patients with extrahepatic spread and/or vascular invasion are permissible.

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
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

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 Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 4, 2000

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 4, 2000

First Posted (Estimate)

October 5, 2000

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 24, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 23, 2005

Last Verified

December 1, 2003

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NCRR-M01RR00042-1707
  • M01RR000042 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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