Surgery vs. Watch-and-Wait Strategy in Complete Responders for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (SWITCH) (SWITCH)

Surgery Versus Maintenance After Conversion-therapy-Achieved Complete/Partial Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Prospective Multicenter Non-randomized Cohort Study

The "Surgery versus Maintenance after Conversion-therapy-achieved Complete/Partial Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (SWITCH)" study is a multicenter, open-label, prospective non-randomized cohort study with the protocol number SWITCH-01 (Version 0.1, dated October 5, 2025). Sponsored by West China Hospital of Sichuan University and led by Principal Investigator Wu Hong, the study involves 10 participating centers and has completed NCT registration. Its core objective is to evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of two management strategies-surgical resection and maintenance therapy-in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have achieved complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) after conversion therapy and are deemed eligible for curative liver resection (R0) by a multidisciplinary team (MDT). The study is designed to address the clinical dilemma of optimal management for initially unresectable HCC patients who attain favorable responses to conversion therapy, providing high-level evidence for clinical decision-making.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Surgery; HCC - Hepatocellular Carcinoma; Watch & Wait
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Surgical Resection; Other: Maintenance Therapy Group

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Kunlin Xie, MD/PhD; Phone Number: +86 18980607259; Email: xiekun@scu.edu.cn

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who achieve complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) following conversion therapy and are deemed eligible for radical hepatectomy (R0 resection) by the multidisciplinary team (MDT) at participating centers.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Aged 18-80 years.
2. Diagnosed with locally advanced, metastatic, and/or initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) via histology/cytology or clinical criteria (AASLD standards for cirrhotic patients; histopathological confirmation required for non-cirrhotic patients).
3. Previously judged unresectable or inappropriate for resection by MDT during initial diagnosis or disease course, with at least one evaluable lesion per RECIST v1.1.
4. Completed conversion therapy [systemic therapy (PD-1/PD-L1 ± TKI) ± local therapy (TACE/HAIC/radiation/ablation, etc.)], achieved CR or PR (primarily assessed by mRECIST, with concurrent RECIST v1.1 documentation), and confirmed via re-evaluation with the same imaging modality ≥4 weeks later.
5. Meets necessary conditions for resection: Child-Pugh Class A liver function, ICG R15 <30%, and future liver remnant (FLR) accounting for ≥40% of standard liver volume (SLV) in patients with chronic liver disease, hepatic parenchymal injury, or cirrhosis, or ≥30% in patients without liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.
6. For patients with previous portal vein/hepatic vein/inferior vena cava tumor thrombus (without atrial tumor thrombus), enrollment is permitted only if the thrombus has significantly regressed after conversion therapy, MDT confirms feasibility of R0 resection, and risks are acceptable.
7. ECOG performance status 0-1.
8. Adequate organ and bone marrow function, as evidenced by: hemoglobin ≥90g/L; absolute neutrophil count ≥1.5×10⁹/L; platelets ≥60×10⁹/L; total bilirubin ≤1.5×upper limit of normal (ULN); AST, ALT, and ALP ≤2.5×ULN; serum creatinine ≤1.5×ULN or estimated creatinine clearance ≥50ml/min (Cockcroft-Gault formula); urine protein <(++) or 24-hour urine protein <1.0g.
9. Normal coagulation function without active bleeding: INR ≤1.5×ULN; APTT ≤1.5×ULN.
10. For patients with active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection: those already receiving anti-HBV therapy (per local standard treatment) must agree to continue during the study; those not receiving anti-HBV therapy must initiate treatment (per local standard treatment) during screening and agree to continue throughout the study.
11. For patients with HCV infection: excluded if HCV RNA is detectable.
12. No pregnancy or pregnancy plans: fertile females must have a negative urine/serum pregnancy test within 7 days before first dosing and agree to use effective contraception during the study and for 120 days after last dosing; non-sterilized males must agree to use effective contraception during the study and for 120 days after last dosing.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Known fibrolamellar HCC, sarcomatoid HCC, or mixed cholangiocarcinoma-HCC.
2. Extrahepatic metastasis confirmed by chest, abdominal, and pelvic CT and/or MRI.
3. Inability to achieve R0 resection.
4. Previous liver transplantation or on the liver transplantation waiting list.
5. Decompensated cirrhosis (persistent or refractory ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, progressive jaundice, etc.); Child-Pugh Class B with score ≥8 or Class C; ALBI Grade 3.
6. Significant and uncontrollable portal hypertension (e.g., markedly elevated HVPG with recurrent variceal bleeding, refractory ascites).
7. Active gastrointestinal bleeding within the past 4 weeks or uncorrectable coagulation disorders.
8. Active infection/sepsis or unresolved Grade ≥2 immune-related adverse events (irAEs).
9. Severe cardiopulmonary/renal insufficiency (e.g., NYHA Class III-IV, recent myocardial infarction/stroke, dialysis dependency).
10. Pregnancy or lactation.
11. Other active malignant tumors within the past 5 years (exceptions for low-risk tumors such as basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix).
12. Inability to undergo standardized imaging assessments (multiphase contrast-enhanced CT/MRI) or poor compliance.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Surgical Resection (SR) cohort	Other: Surgical Resection; Patients in the Surgical Resection (SR) cohort should undergo curative resection within 1-2 weeks after the index date. Perioperative medication management shall be conducted in accordance with the participating center's standards, and unified pathological assessments shall be performed for pathological complete response (pCR), major pathological response (MPR), and surgical margin status. Adjuvant therapy shall be initiated 4-8 weeks postoperatively, using the same preoperative PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor ± tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) regimen, and continued until the occurrence of radiological progression, death, or fulfillment of the drug discontinuation criteria. [The index date is defined as the first date on which the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) simultaneously confirms that "complete response (CR)/partial response (PR) has been achieved and surgical resection is feasible," and it serves as the common time zero for both cohorts.]
Maintenance Therapy (MT) cohort	Other: Maintenance Therapy Group; Patients in the Maintenance Therapy (MT) cohort shall continue treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor ± tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) starting from the index date, until the occurrence of radiological progression, death, or fulfillment of the drug discontinuation criteria. [The index date is defined as the first date on which the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) simultaneously confirms that "complete response (CR)/partial response (PR) has been achieved and surgical resection is feasible," and it serves as the common time zero for both cohorts.]

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to Treatment Failure (TTF) per RECIST v1.1	TTF is defined as the time from the date of enrollment to the date of first documented treatment failure, including local recurrence, intrahepatic progression, extrahepatic spread (EHS), or death from any cause. Tumor assessment is performed using CT or MRI evaluated by the Independent Review Facility (IRF) according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1.	From date of enrollment until treatment failure, assessed up to 36 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to Treatment Failure (TTF) per mRECIST	TTF assessed by IRF and investigators according to modified RECIST (mRECIST) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Defined as time from date of enrollment to treatment failure (recurrence, progression, or death).	From date of enrollment until treatment failure, assessed up to 36 months
Overall Survival (OS)	OS is defined as the time from the date of enrollment to the date of death due to any cause. For patients still alive at the time of analysis, the data will be censored at the last date the patient was known to be alive.	From date of enrollment until death, assessed up to 36 months
12-month Overall Survival (OS) Rate	The proportion of participants who are alive at 12 months after the date of enrollment.	At 12 months post-enrollment
Pattern of Recurrence or Progression	Characterization of the first failure event classified by site: Intrahepatic (local recurrence vs. new lesion) or Extrahepatic (distant metastasis). Confirmation involves radiographic evaluation (CT/MRI) and, where feasible, histological/cytological confirmation. Categorized as solitary vs. multiple lesions and resectable vs. unresectable.	From date of enrollment until first recurrence/progression, assessed up to 36 months
Incidence of Adverse Events (AEs)	Percentage of participants experiencing treatment-emergent adverse events. AEs are graded according to the NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0 for systemic therapy, and surgical complications are graded according to the Clavien-Dindo Classification and comprehensive complication index (CCI).	From date of enrollment through 90 days after the last dose of study treatment or surgery

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
R0 Resection Rate	The percentage of enrolled participants undergoing surgery who achieve R0 resection. R0 resection is defined as the complete removal of all macroscopic tumor with microscopically negative surgical margins (no tumor cells at the cut edge), confirmed by postoperative histopathological report.	At the time of surgery (Day 0) up to 30 days after surgery
Pathological Response Rate (pathological complete response and major pathological response)	Assessed by histological examination of the resected tumor specimen. Pathological Complete Response (pCR) is defined as no viable tumor cells. Major Pathological Response (MPR) is defined as viable tumor cells ≤50%.	Up to 30 days after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: West China Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 29, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: HCC; surgery; watch and wait
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Digestive System Neoplasms; Digestive System Diseases; Liver Diseases; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial; Adenocarcinoma; Liver Neoplasms; Carcinoma; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2025-2584

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