HR Versus RFA for HCC in Patients With PHT (HR-HCC/PHT)

January 14, 2022 updated by: Jian-Hong Zhong, Guangxi Medical University

Hepatic Resection Versus Radiofrequency Ablation for Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Portal Hypertension

The purpose of the investigators' study is to prospectively compare the safety and efficacy of hepatic resection to radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with portal hypertension.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Cirrhosis is common among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); in China, for example, it occurs in approximately 80% of HCC patients. Another common comorbidity of HCC is clinically significant portal hypertension (PHT), which occurs in 25-55% of patients with both HCC and cirrhosis. PHT correlates with the severity of cirrhosis, and it can complicate HCC treatment by increasing the risk of perioperative hemorrhage and liver failure.

Hepatic resection (HR) is a widely used radical therapy for HCC. Although HR is often suitable for HCC patients with cirrhosis, it is widely regarded as unsuitable for HCC patients with PHT because of the potential for postoperative hepatic decompensation. In fact, the absence of PHT is the best predictor of excellent HR outcomes. Guidelines of the American and European Associations for the Study of Liver Disease do not recommend HR as an option for HCC patients with PHT. Several studies, however, have reported that HCC patients with and without clinically significant PHT showed similar short- and long-term outcomes after HR. This controversy is important to resolve because more than 25% of cirrhotic patients with HCC also present with PHT.

Actually, official guidelines recommend liver transplatation for patients with HCC and PHT. However, implementation of liver transplantation is restricted by the lack of liver donation and the high cost of the procedure in many countries, especially China. However, as a minimally invasive therapy, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a popular treatment modality for patients with HCC within Milan Criteria. Moreover, randomized controlled trials have validated and proposed its clinical usage.

So here, we plan to address the safety and efficacy of HR comparing with RFA for HCC patients with PHT using a population from Guangxi province of China, where the population shows the highest HCC incidence in the world.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

120

Phase

  • Phase 3

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 Locations

    • Guangxi
      • Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
        • Recruiting
        • Department of Hepatobilliary Surgery, Affiliated Tumor of Guangxi University
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jian-Hong Zhong, 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18-75 years
  • In the HR group, clinical diagnosis of HCC was confirmed by histopathological examination of surgical samples in all patients; in the RFA group, HCC diagnosis was confirmed by two types of clinical imaging (ultrasonography, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging), togetherwith a serum level of α-fetoprotein higher than 400 ng/mL. If diagnosis based on imaging andα-fetoprotein level was uncertain, needle biopsy was performed.
  • Tumor stage fitted into Milan Criteria
  • Patients with clinically relevant portal hypertension, which is defined as the presence of esophageal varices and/or a platelet count of less than 100 000 per μL in association with splenomegaly.
  • Patients have Child-Pugh A or B liver function
  • No previous neoadjuvant treatment
  • No evidence of metastasis to the lymph nodes and/or distant metastases on the basis of preoperative imaging results and perioperative findings
  • No malignancy other than HCC for 5 years prior to the initial HCC treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of cardiac disease
  • Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
  • Known Central Nervous System tumors including metastatic brain disease
  • History of organ allograft
  • Substance abuse, medical, psychological or social conditions that may interfere with the patient's participation in the study or evaluation of the study results
  • Any condition that is unstable or which could jeopardize the safety of the patient and his/her compliance in the study
  • Pregnant or breast-feeding patients.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Hepatic resection
Adequate remnant liver volume was 30% for HCC patients without cirrhosis, and >50% for HCC patients with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, or severe fatty liver.
Indications for HR are the presence of appropriate residual liver volume determined by volumetric computed tomography.
Active Comparator: Radiofrequency ablation
RFA is performed in less than one week after clinical diagnosis.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Overall survival
Time Frame: 3 years
3 years
Hospital mortality
Time Frame: 90 day
90 day

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Recurrence rate
Time Frame: 3 years
3 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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)

May 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

August 1, 2022

Study Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 15, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

July 17, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 18, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 14, 2022

Last Verified

January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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