Low-Dose Bevacizumab and Atezolizumab Combined With TACE-HAIC in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

April 15, 2026 updated by: Huang Mingsheng, Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University

Efficacy and Safety of Low-Dose Bevacizumab and Atezolizumab Combined With Transarterial Chemoembolization Sequential Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Arm, Phase II Trial

This is a prospective, single-arm, phase II clinical study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose bevacizumab plus atezolizumab combined with transarterial chemoembolization followed by hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (TACE-HAIC) as first-line treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The study plans to enroll approximately 38 patients with unresectable, locally advanced HCC who have not received prior systemic therapy.

Although atezolizumab plus bevacizumab has become a standard first-line treatment option for advanced HCC, the objective response rate remains limited. TACE-HAIC may improve tumor control by increasing local chemotherapy exposure, promoting tumor antigen release, and enhancing the anti-tumor activity of immunotherapy and anti-angiogenic therapy. In this study, patients will receive TACE-HAIC in combination with atezolizumab and low-dose bevacizumab, followed by maintenance treatment with atezolizumab plus low-dose bevacizumab until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or other protocol-defined discontinuation criteria.

The primary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR) assessed by investigators according to RECIST version 1.1. Secondary endpoints include ORR by mRECIST, disease control rate, duration of response, progression-free survival, time to progression, overall survival, and safety. This study aims to explore whether this combination strategy can provide improved anti-tumor activity with manageable safety in patients with unresectable HCC.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

38

Phase

  • 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

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Voluntarily provides written informed consent. Age ≥18 years. Histologically or cytologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or clinically diagnosed HCC in patients with cirrhosis according to AASLD criteria.

Unresectable HCC suitable for TACE treatment, including BCLC stage B or C, without Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombus or extrahepatic metastasis.

No prior systemic therapy for HCC. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1. Child-Pugh class A or class B7 liver function. No history of autoimmune disease. Life expectancy of at least 3 months. At least one measurable lesion according to RECIST v1.1.

Adequate hematologic, hepatic, and renal function within 1 week before enrollment:

Neutrophils ≥1.5 × 10^9/L Platelets ≥50 × 10^9/L Hemoglobin ≥90 g/L ALT and AST ≤5 × upper limit of normal (ULN) Serum creatinine ≤1.5 × ULN INR <2.3, or prothrombin time ≤ULN + 6 seconds Albumin ≥30 g/L Total bilirubin ≤3 × ULN Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test within 7 days before enrollment, must not be breastfeeding, and must agree to use effective contraception during the study and for 6 months after the end of study treatment. Men must also agree to use effective contraception during the study and for 6 months after the end of study treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

Known intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, sarcomatoid HCC, mixed cell carcinoma, or fibrolamellar carcinoma; or other active malignancy within 5 years, except adequately treated localized tumors such as basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, superficial bladder cancer, carcinoma in situ of the prostate, cervix, or breast.

Severe allergy to iodinated contrast agents that precludes TACE-HAIC treatment. Use of immunosuppressive agents or systemic corticosteroids for immunosuppressive purposes within 1 month before enrollment.

Active infection that cannot be effectively controlled. Severe gastroesophageal varices, or untreated/incompletely treated varices with bleeding or high bleeding risk.

Brain metastases or bone metastases requiring urgent surgical or radiotherapeutic intervention.

Pregnancy, suspected pregnancy, or breastfeeding. Current use of, or recent use within 10 days before study treatment of, aspirin >325 mg/day, dipyridamole, ticlopidine, clopidogrel, or cilostazol.

Thrombotic or embolic events within 6 months before treatment initiation, including cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, or pulmonary embolism.

Congenital or acquired immunodeficiency. Any of the following within 12 months before study start: myocardial infarction, severe or unstable angina, or congestive heart failure.

Renal failure requiring dialysis. Prior organ transplantation. Any other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric condition, or laboratory abnormality, that may increase study risk, interfere with interpretation of results, or make the patient unsuitable for enrollment in the investigator's judgment.

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: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: TACE-HAIC + Atezolizumab + Low-dose Bevacizumab
Participants with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who have not received prior systemic therapy will be enrolled into a single treatment cohort. All participants will receive transarterial chemoembolization followed by hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (TACE-HAIC) in combination with atezolizumab and low-dose bevacizumab as first-line treatment. Atezolizumab will be administered at a fixed dose of 1200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks, and bevacizumab will be administered at 7.5 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks. HAIC will be given using the FOLFOX regimen, and subsequent TACE will be performed as needed according to the patient's condition and investigator judgment. Treatment will continue until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, conversion to resectable disease, or other protocol-defined discontinuation criteria.
Drug: TACE-HAIC + Atezolizumab + Low-dose Bevacizumab
Participants with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receive first-line treatment with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) followed by hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) using the FOLFOX regimen, administered via hepatic artery catheter. The HAIC regimen consists of oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² by arterial infusion over 2 hours on Day 1, followed by leucovorin 400 mg/m² by arterial infusion over 1 hour on Day 1, then fluorouracil 400 mg/m² bolus infusion and 2400 mg/m² continuous infusion over 24 hours. Subsequently, participants receive intravenous atezolizumab (1200 mg fixed dose, every 3 weeks) and low-dose bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg, every 3 weeks). Each treatment cycle is 21 days. Treatment continues until disease progression according to RECIST v1.1, unacceptable toxicity, withdrawal of consent, conversion to resectable disease, or other protocol-defined discontinuation criteria.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Objective Response Rate (ORR)
Time Frame: 2 years
Percentage of participants achieving complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) as best overall response (BOR) according to RECIST v1.1 criteria, assessed by the investigator.
2 years
Progression-Free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: 2 years
PFS is defined as the time from the first dose of study treatment to the first documented disease progression per RECIST v1.1 criteria or death from any cause, whichever occurs first, as assessed by the investigator.
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University

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)

May 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 22, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 15, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • II2026-114-01

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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