Social Determinants of Health HCC Trial

April 30, 2026 updated by: Kali Zhou, University of Southern California

A Randomized Controlled Interventional Trial of a Social Determinants of Health and Patient Navigation Program to Improve Treatment Utilization Among Low-income Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The goal of this study is to test whether providing various social resources (transportation support through Lyft rides, housing support through Hyatt House LA, and meal support through Project Angel Food LA) will reduce treatment delays and increase treatment uptake for patients with liver cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Social determinants of health (SDOH) play a central role in drop-offs at each step of the cancer care cascade for patients living in poverty. Social barriers have been shown to result in delays in care, increased non-compliance, and poorer outcomes. Importantly, negative SDOH among patients with HCC may impact receipt of therapy, a critical contributor to improved survival. Studies have shown that even small delays in therapy (more than 3 months from diagnosis) can lead to worse survival. The treatment landscape for HCC is complex, ranging from surgical options to locoregional therapies to immunotherapy, and requires multidisciplinary input from hepatologists, oncologists, interventional radiologists, and surgeons and frequent touchpoints with the healthcare system to successfully complete treatment. Social barriers can make navigating these complexities especially challenging for resource-poor patients with HCC.

The investigators hypothesize that intervening upon key social determinants of health along with patient navigation will lead to improvements in adherence to care and timely receipt of guideline-concordant treatment among underserved patients with HCC. Specifically, the study targets three modifiable and inter-related social barriers - unreliable transportation, housing instability, and food insecurity - that have previously been shown to be prevalent among patients with cirrhosis.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

75

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90033
        • USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
        • Contact:
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90033
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90033
        • LA General Medical Center
        • 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:

  • Adults (18 years or older)
  • Diagnosis of HCC (BCLC Stage A-C)
  • Uninsured or underinsured (i.e., Medicaid as primary or secondary insurance)
  • Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-HCC liver tumors
  • BCLC Stage D and/or Child Pugh C cirrhosis (latter unable to receive treatment due to poor liver function)
  • No plans for cancer treatment for any reason including patient refusal (best supportive care only)
  • Only oral systemic therapy planned (i.e., tyrosine kinase inhibitors)
  • Incarcerated patients or pregnant patients
  • Unable to provide informed consent

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: SDOH and patient navigation program
Transportation support through Lyft rideshares, housing support through Hyatt House LA - University Medical Center, and meal support through Project Angel Food LA
Other: Social Determinants of Health Program
Social resources to be offered under our SDOH program will include 1) rideshares to treatment-related visits, 2) hotel stays for treatment-related visits, and/or 3) a 12-week meal delivery program.
Other: Patient Navigation
Usual clinic-provided patient navigation to appointments, scheduling, social resources, financial challenges, etc.
Active Comparator: Patient navigation only
For the duration of the intervention, patients will have access to patient navigation as per usual care. The intensity and frequency of navigation is dependent on the treating clinic; the provider of navigation (whether nurse vs social worker) is also variable by clinic. This includes: coordination of care including assistance with scheduling follow-up visits, labs, imaging, and procedures, help with filling out forms for insurance, FMLA or disability benefits, facilitating communication with treating providers, referral to community and patient support groups, providing patients with educational materials and resources, check-ins on well-being and any cancer- or treatment-related concerns
Other: Patient Navigation
Usual clinic-provided patient navigation to appointments, scheduling, social resources, financial challenges, etc.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of participants with treatment uptake within 90 days
Time Frame: 90 days
The primary outcome is receipt of timely treatment for HCC defined as within 90 days of randomization
90 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion receiving treatment
Time Frame: 2 years
The secondary endpoint will evaluate the proportion of participants receiving treatment at any timepoint after randomization until end of study
2 years
Number of acute care visits
Time Frame: 2 years
Utilization of acute care settings such as emergency room visits or hospital admissions during the study period
2 years
Patient-reported outcome - FACIT-COST Survey
Time Frame: 6 months
Differences in financial toxicity as measured by the COST: A FACIT Measure of Financial Toxicity (FACIT-COST) Survey at the end of the intervention period (range 0-48; higher score means better financial well-being)
6 months
Patient reported outcome - FACT-HEP Survey
Time Frame: 6 months
Comparison of difference in health-related quality of life based on the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Hepatobiliary (FACT-HEP) Survey score (range 0-180; higher score means better quality of life)
6 months
Mortality
Time Frame: 2 years
Proportion of participants who are alive at end of study period
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Southern California

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)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 30, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UP-25-00802

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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