Can a single stem cell shot save a scarred liver?

NCT ID NCT04689152

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 21, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026

Summary

Researchers are testing whether a single injection of a patient's own bone marrow stem cells, delivered into the liver's main artery, can help people with alcoholic cirrhosis live longer without needing a liver transplant. The trial enrolls about 200 adults with moderate to severe cirrhosis and compares the stem cell treatment plus standard care against standard care alone. Participants are followed for up to three years to track survival, liver function, and side effects.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Cellgram-LC)
What this could lead to
If it works, a one-time stem cell injection could offer a new way to slow liver failure and delay or avoid the need for a liver transplant in people with alcoholic cirrhosis.
What could go wrong
The trial is still testing whether the treatment helps at all, and stem cell therapies for liver disease have had mixed results in earlier studies. Injecting cells into the liver artery carries procedural risks, and not everyone may respond.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 3

Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.

Participants

About 200 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Apr 2021

Expected to finish

Dec 2029

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

A company

The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

20 to 71 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. At the time of screening, 19 or 70 years 2. Patients diagnosed with alcoholic cirrhosis by combining alcohol history, imaging and pathological examination results, and clinical symptoms at screening, and belonging to Child-Pugh grade B or C (Child-Pugh score of 7 or more) 3. Those whose survival period is more than 1 year when judged by the tester 4. Those who can perform hepatic artery catheterization by inserting a catheter into the hepatic artery at the judgment of the examiner 5. In the case of women of childbearing potential, a person who was confirmed negative in the pregnancy test at screening and agreed to use contraception\* by the method permitted for this clinical trial during the clinical trial 6. Those who can conduct clinical trials according to the clinical trial protocol 7. A person who has consented in writing to voluntarily participate in this clinical trial Exclusion Criteria: 1. Those with a history of solid cancer including Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) (within 5 years before screening), those who have been diagnosed with solid cancer and are currently undergoing chemotherapy or those whose hepatocellular carcinoma has been confirmed by screening tests 2. Patients who underwent portal systemic shunting in the jugular vein 3. Patients with alcohol consumption or hepatotoxic drugs within 6 months prior to screening 4. Persons taking high-dose steroids, immunosuppressants, or antimicrobials due to severe infections for at least 1 month of screening 5. Those who have major surgical operations, long-term biopsy, or significant trauma as judged by the investigator within 3 months before screening 6. Those whose history of gastrointestinal bleeding is confirmed within 10 days of screening 7. Those whose medical history or accompanying diseases following the screening time is confirmed * If you have not been diagnosed with a malignant blood disease (acute myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Hodgkins lymphoma, multiple myelopathy) * Severe aplastic anemia * Liver transplant history * Liver diseases of other causes besides alcoholic cirrhosis: hepatitis B and C, autoimmune liver disease (primary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis, etc.), weak liver toxicity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease , NAFLD), Wilson's disease, iron excess, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, etc.) * Extrahepatic biliary stenosis * Active portal vein or hepatic vein thrombosis * Heart failure or respiratory failure * Severe renal impairment (when the result of serum creatinine test exceeds 1.5 times the upper limit of normal) * Acute or chronic infection requiring systemic treatment * Severe coagulation disorder (if the tester judges it as a severe coagulation disorder or one of the following 1 to 3; 1. bleeding predisposition, 2. coagulation, 3. platelet≤50,000/mm3 and INR≥1.5) 8. serologic test result (HIV, HAV, HBV, HCV, Syphilis infection) positive factor 9. Patients unable to collect bone marrow due to bone marrow disease 10. Those with a history of gentamicin hypersensitivity reaction 11. Pregnant or lactating women 12. Those with substance abuse experience within 1 year before screening 13. Those who participated in other clinical trials within one month before screening and administered (or applied) clinical trial drugs (or medical devices) 14. Those who previously participated in clinical trials related to cell therapy 15. Patients judged to be inappropriate to participate in this clinical trial due to complications, etc., when judged by the investigator before screening or registration

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    13 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Gangnam Severance Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Gangneung Asan Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Gangneung-si, South Korea

  • Gangwon National University Hospital

    TERMINATED

    Chuncheon, South Korea

  • Hallym Univ. Medical Center

    RECRUITING

    Chuncheon, South Korea

  • Korea University Anam Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Korea University Ansan Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Ansan, South Korea

  • Seoul National University Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Severance Hospital

    NOT_YET_RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Soonchunhyang University Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Bucheon-si, South Korea

  • Soonchunhyang University Hospital

    TERMINATED

    Cheonan, South Korea

  • Soonchunhyang University Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Wonju Severance Christian Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Wŏnju, South Korea

  • Yongin Severance Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Yongin, South Korea

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