New combo therapy aims to shrink untreatable liver tumors
NCT ID NCT07180459
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tests a new approach for people with liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Doctors will use tiny drug-coated beads to block blood flow to the tumor (a procedure called TACE) along with a targeted pill called Donafenib. The goal is to see if this combination can shrink tumors and help patients live longer. About 118 participants will be enrolled, and the study will track how long the cancer stays under control.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Donafenib (a targeted cancer drug) and drug-loaded microspheres (tiny beads that deliver chemotherapy directly to the tumor)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a more effective way to control liver cancer that cannot be removed by surgery, potentially extending life and delaying tumor growth.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early, single-arm observational study with no comparison group, so results may not be definitive. The combination therapy also carries risks like liver damage, bleeding, or side effects from the drugs.
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.
- Participants
-
About 118 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
-
Oct 2025
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
-
Oct 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
118 Hepatocellular carcinoma Patients
- Ages
-
18 to 80 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 Hide 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) Patients with unresectable primary liver cancer who strictly meet the clinical diagnostic criteria of the "Primary Liver Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines" (2024 Edition) or who have been diagnosed through pathological histology or cytology examination, and who have at least one measurable lesion (according to the mRECIST 1.1 version, the long diameter of the measurable lesion on spiral CT scan should be ≥ 10mm or the short diameter of the enlarged lymph node should be ≥ 15mm); (2) Tumor staging: CNLC stage Ib, IIa, IIb, IIIa, IIIb or BCLC A, B, C stage; non-diffuse liver cancer (PVTT classified according to the Japanese Liver Cancer Research Society's portal vein tumor thrombus characteristics as Vp1/2, Vp3, Vp4); (3) Gender of the patients is not restricted, and the age is 18-80 years old; expected lifespan is ≥ 3 months; (4) Within 1 week before enrollment, the ECOG PS score: 0-1; (5) No severe comorbidities, such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and history of mental illness, no severe allergy history; (6) Liver function should reach Child-Pugh grade A or B; (7) Laboratory tests meet the following requirements: platelets ≥ 50×109/L; hemoglobin ≥ 9g/dL; white blood cells ≥ 4×109/L; neutrophils ≥ 1.5×109/L); serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the upper limit of normal value (ULN), transaminases (ALT, AST) ≤ 5 times ULN; creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN; urine routine shows urine protein \< 2+; for patients whose urine protein ≥ 2+ at baseline, 24-hour urine collection should be conducted and the 24-hour urine protein quantification \< 1g; international normalized ratio (INR) or activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 1.5 times ULN; (8) HBV DNA \< 2000 IU/ml (104 copies/ml); (9) For pregnant women of childbearing age, a pregnancy test should be conducted within 7 days before enrollment; (10) Patients have signed the informed consent form agreeing to participate in this trial study; good compliance and cooperation with treatment. Exclusion Criteria: * (1) Imaging examination shows that the liver tumor is huge (≥ 60% of liver volume), or there is a main portal vein tumor thrombus (occupying the vascular diameter ≥ 50%), or the tumor thrombus invades the mesenteric vein or inferior vena cava, or there are obvious native hepatic artery - portal vein fistulas and native hepatic artery - hepatic vein fistulas that cannot safely use drug-loaded microspheres; (2) Before participating in this study, they have undergone local treatments such as traditional TACE, thermal ablation, cryoablation, external radiotherapy and radioactive particle implantation, and have received systemic chemotherapy, oral liver cancer targeted drugs (sorafenib, lenafolate, apatinib) and immune therapy (PD-1/PD-L1/CDLA-4/biologic double therapy); (3) Patients with diffuse liver cancer; known hepatocellular carcinoma and mixed cell carcinoma and fibroplastic cell carcinoma; having other untreated malignant tumors in the past (within 5 years) or simultaneously; except for cured skin basal cell carcinoma and cervical carcinoma in situ; (4) Having grade II or above myocardial ischemia or myocardial infarction, and uncontrolled arrhythmia (including QTc interval for males ≥ 450ms, females ≥ 470ms); (5) Having a history of gastrointestinal bleeding in the past 6 months or having a clear tendency for gastrointestinal bleeding, such as: esophageal varices with bleeding risk, local active ulcer lesion, fecal occult blood ≥ (++), not eligible for inclusion; if fecal occult blood (+), a gastroscopy examination is required; (6) Abnormal coagulation function (INR \> 1.5 or prothrombin time (PT) \> ULN + 4 seconds), bleeding tendency or undergoing thrombolysis or anticoagulation treatment; (7) Patients with central nervous system metastasis or known brain metastasis; having objective evidence of past and current pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial pneumonia, pneumoconiosis, radiation pneumonia, drug-related pneumonia, severe impairment of pulmonary function; patients with combined HIV infection; pregnant or lactating patients; patients preparing for liver transplantation (except for patients who have undergone liver transplantation in the past); (8) Severe systemic failure, with an expected survival period \< 3 months; (9) Severe renal dysfunction (creatinine \> 2mg/dl or creatinine clearance rate \< 30ml/min); (10) Unable to complete the treatment plan due to various reasons, and lost follow-up within three months after enrollment.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Carcinoma are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
-
The places running it
10 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
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
-
Deng zhou People's Hospital
Nanyang, Henan, China
-
First People's Hospital of Shangqiu
Shangqiu, Henan, China
-
Huai He Hospital of Henan University
Kaifeng, Henan, China
-
Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospitail
Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
-
Luo He Central Hospital
Luohe, Henan, China
-
Luo Yang Central Hospital
Luoyang, Henan, China
-
People's Hospital of Kaiyang County
Guiyang, Guizhou, China
-
Second People's Hospital of Jiaozuo
Jiaozuo, China
-
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical Universsity
Haikou, Hainan, China
-
Zhou Kou Central Hospital
Zhoukou, Henan, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Sparing the liver: targeted chemoembolization meets lenvatinib in liver cancer
- AI-Enhanced ultrasound aims to catch liver cancer earlier
- Can turbocharged immune cells stop liver cancer from coming back?
- Two blood markers put to the test for early liver cancer detection
- New antibody pair takes aim at advanced liver cancer in major trial
- New antibody aims to preserve immune checkpoint while fighting cancer