Liver transplant offers new hope for incurable bile duct cancer
NCT ID NCT06125769
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether a liver transplant can help people with a type of bile duct cancer (perihilar cholangiocarcinoma) that cannot be surgically removed. About 50 participants will receive standard chemotherapy followed by a liver transplant. Researchers will track how long they live and their quality of life, and also look for markers that predict the best outcomes.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2024
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2033
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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: * Diagnosis of pCCA (transcatheter biopsy or brush cytology, CA 19-9 \> 100 mg/mL and/or a mass on cross-sectional imaging with a malignant appearing stricture on cholangiography, or biliary ploidy with a malignant appearing stricture on cholangiography) * Unresectable tumor above cystic duct (pancreatoduodenectomy for microscopic involvement of CBD) or resectable pCCA arising in PSC * Absence of major vascular invasion, extrahepatic disease, or involvement of regional lymph nodes * No extrahepatic metastatic disease * Radial tumor diameter ≤3 cm * At least six months between first diagnosis of pCCA and date of inclusion * At least six months of SOC chemotherapy, achieving disease stability or partial response Exclusion Criteria: * Uncontrollable infection * Prior radiotherapy or chemotherapy * Prior biliary surgical resection or attempted surgical resection * Diameter of tumor \>3cm * Presence of intra-hepatic metastases or iCCA * Present or past evidence of extrahepatic metastatic disease * Transperitoneal biopsy (including percutaneous ecography-guided FNA) * Prior neoplasms, except those treated curatively for more than 5 years without recurrence * Substance abuse and medical, psychological, or social conditions that may interfere with the patient's participation in the study * Pregnant or breastfeeding women * Medical-surgical contraindications for liver transplantation
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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.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Azienda Ospedale Università di Padova
RECRUITINGPadova, PADOVA, 35128, Italy
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can Re-Assessing bile duct cancer treatment open the door to surgery?
- Burning away bile duct blockages: a new weapon against cholangiocarcinoma?
- Can a Pre-Surgery drug combo boost bile duct cancer survival?
- Can blood tests reveal how liver and bile duct cancers respond to treatment?
- Can a One-Two punch of heat and drainage tame inoperable bile duct cancer?
- Heat therapy before stenting may extend bile duct patency in cancer patients