Can a heart drug help doctors see liver cancer better?
NCT ID NCT07682454
First seen Jul 02, 2026 · Last updated Jul 02, 2026
Summary
This study explores whether a special imaging technique called parenchymal blood volume (PBV) imaging can detect changes in blood flow within liver tumors after giving a drug called nitroglycerin. The drug is commonly used for heart conditions but may temporarily increase blood flow to tumors, making them easier to see and treat. About 50 adults with untreated liver cancer will receive nitroglycerin directly into the liver artery during a standard procedure, and researchers will use PBV imaging to measure any changes in tumor blood supply. The goal is to see if this approach can help guide future treatments like chemoembolization.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Nitroglycerin
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this imaging method could help doctors tailor liver cancer treatments by revealing how tumors respond to blood-flow-altering drugs.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study, so results may not apply broadly. The imaging technique is experimental and may not reliably predict treatment outcomes.
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
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2030
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 years and older
- 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: 1. Participants must have radiographically documented, previously untreated LIRADS V liver lesions or biopsy-confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as determined by the ZSFG Liver Tumor Board. 2. Lesions must be determined to be suitable for conventional trans-arterial chemoembolization (cTACE) based on multidisciplinary tumor board review. 3. No prior locoregional therapy (e.g., TACE, Y-90) to the index lesion(s). 4. Age ≥18 years. 5. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky \>70%) 6. Demonstrates adequate organ function as defined below: 1. Absolute neutrophil count \>=1,500/microliter (mcL). 2. Platelets ≥100,000/microliter (mcL). 3. Total bilirubin ≤ 3.0 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), unless elevated due to Gilbert's syndrome and direct bilirubin is within normal limits. 4. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) / serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) ≤3 X institutional upper limit of normal. 5. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) / serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGPT) ≤3 X institutional upper limit of normal 6. Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x within institutional upper limit of normal or 7. Creatinine clearance Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) \>= 60 milliliters per minute (mL/min)/1.73 m2, calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation, unless data exists supporting safe use at lower kidney function values, no lower than 30 milliliters per minute (mL/min)/1.73 m2. 7. Liver function: Child-Pugh score must be no higher than B5. 8. Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. 9. Individuals with a prior or concurrent malignancy whose natural history or treatment does not have the potential to interfere with the safety or efficacy assessment of the investigational regimen are eligible for this trial. 10. The female participants of childbearing potential and male participants with partners of childbearing potential must agree to use effective contraception during the study and for 30 days after study intervention. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Multifocal disease (i.e., presence of more than one HCC lesion). 2. Has received systemic anticancer therapies within 3 weeks of first dose, radiation within 2 weeks, antibody therapy within 4 weeks. Concomitant administration of LHRH analogues for prostate cancer and somatostatin analogues for neuroendocrine tumors are allowed as per standard of care. 3. Has not recovered from adverse events due to prior anti-cancer therapy to ≤ grade 1 or baseline (other than alopecia). 4. Is currently receiving any other therapeutic/investigational agents. 5. Has participated in a study of an investigational product and received study treatment or used an investigational device within 3 weeks of the first use of an investigational product. 6. Co-morbid disease or concurrent illness (e.g., cardiovascular disease, portal vein thrombosis). 7. Hypersensitivity to nitroglycerine or any of its excipients. 8. Concomitant medications (contraindicated): 1. Concurrent use of prescription phosphodiesterase inhibitors (e.g., sildenafil) 2. Concurrent use of nitrate-containing medications. 3. Concurrent use of vasoactive chemotherapeutic agents, such as bevacizumab (Avastin). 9. Recent anti-cancer therapies: 1. Systemic anticancer therapies within 3 weeks of the procedure. 2. Radiation therapy within 2 weeks. 3. Antibody-based therapy within 4 weeks. 4. Use of investigational agents or devices within 3 weeks of the index procedure. 10. Unresolved toxicities from prior cancer therapy, unless ≤ Grade 1 (excluding alopecia). 11. Currently receiving any other therapeutic or investigational agents during the study period.
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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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
2 sites. 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
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Locations
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University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94143, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG)
San Francisco, California, 94110, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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