Liver cancer trial tests immunotherapy plus chemo combo
NCT ID NCT06860490
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This Phase 2 trial is testing whether adding a targeted chemotherapy infusion into the liver (HAIC) to a combination of two drugs—sintilimab (an immunotherapy) and bevacizumab biosimilar (which blocks blood vessel growth)—helps people with advanced liver cancer live longer without their disease getting worse. The study plans to enroll 164 participants who have not had prior systemic therapy. Researchers will compare the group receiving all three treatments against those getting only the two drugs.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Sintilimab (an immunotherapy drug) and bevacizumab biosimilar (a drug that blocks blood vessel growth), with or without HAIC (chemotherapy delivered directly to the liver via a catheter)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a more effective combination treatment for advanced liver cancer that has not been treated before.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage (Phase 2) trial with only 164 people, so results may not apply to everyone. Adding HAIC may increase side effects without clear benefit.
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 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
-
About 164 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Mar 2028
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.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- 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: * Written informed consent obtained. * Age ≥ 18 years at time of study entry. * Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C, or stage B not amenable to curative or locoregional therapies. * HCC confirmed by radiology, histology or cytology. * No prior systemic therapy for HCC. * At least one measurable site of disease as defined by RECIST1.1criteria with spiral CT scan or MRI. * Child-Pugh scores 5-7, performance status (PS) ≤ 2 (ECOG scale). * Subjects with chronic HBV infection must have HBV DNA viral load \< 100 IU/mL at screening. In addition, they must be on antiviral therapy per regional standard of care guidelines prior to initiation of study therapy. * Life expectancy of at least 12 weeks. * Adequate blood count, liver-enzymes, and renal function: absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/L, platelets ≥60 x103/L; Total bilirubin ≤ 3x upper normal limit; Aspartate Aminotransferase (SGOT), Alanine aminotransferase (SGPT) ≤ 5 x upper normal limit (ULN); International normalized ratio (INR) ≤1.25; Albumin ≥ 31 g/dL; Serum Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x institutional ULN or creatinine clearance (CrCl) ≥ 30 mL/min (if using the Cockcroft-Gault formula) * Female patients with reproductive potential must have a negative urine or serum pregnancy test within 7 days prior to start of trial. * Subject is willing and able to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study including undergoing treatment, adherence to contraceptive measures, scheduled visits and examinations including follow up. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients on a liver transplantation list or with advanced liver disease. * History of cardiac disease, including clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding within 4 weeks prior to start of study treatment * Thrombotic or embolic events such as cerebrovascular accident (including transient ischemic attacks), deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism within the 6 months Prior to the first dose of study drug with the exception of thrombosis of a segmental portal vein. * Prior systemic anti-cancer therapy OR endocrine- OR immunotherapy. * Prior treatment with HAIC. * Radiotherapy administered less than 4 weeks prior to study treatment start. * Major surgery within 4 weeks of starting the study treatment OR subjects who have not recovered from effects of major surgery. * Patients with second primary cancer, except adequately treated basal skin cancer or carcinoma in-situ of the cervix. * Immunocompromised patients, e.g. patients who are known to be serologically positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). * Participation in another clinical study with an investigational product during the last 30 days before inclusion or 7 half-lifes of previously used trial medication, whichever is longer. * Previous treatment in the present study (does not include screening failure). * Any condition or comorbidity that, in the opinion of the investigator, would interfere with evaluation of study Treatment or interpretation of patient safety or study results, including but not limited to: a) history of interstitial lung disease b) Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) coinfection (i.e double infection) c) known acute or chronic pancreatitis d) active tuberculosis e) any other active infection (viral, fungal or bacterial) requiring systemic therapy f) history of allogeneic tissue/solid organ transplant g) diagnosis of immunodeficiency or patient is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first dose of treatment. h) Has an active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within the past 3 months or a documented history of clinically severe autoimmune disease, or a syndrome that requires systemic steroids or immunosuppressive agents. Exceptions: Subjects with vitiligo, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus type I or resolved childhood asthma/atopy are an exception to this rule. Subjects that require intermittent use of bronchodilators or local steroid injections would not be excluded from the study. Subjects with Hashimoto thyroiditis, hypothyroidism stable on hormone replacement or psoriasis not requiring treatment are not excluded from the study. i) Live vaccine within 30 days prior to the first dose of treatment or during study treatment. j) History or clinical evidence of Central Nervous System (CNS) metastases Exceptions are: Subjects who have completed local therapy and who meet both of the following criteria: I. are asymptomatic and II. have no requirement for steroids 6 weeks prior to start of treatment. Screening with CNS imaging (CT or MRI) is required only if clinically indicated or if the subject has a history of CNS. * Medication that is known to interfere with any of the agents applied in the trial. * Any other efficacious cancer treatment except protocol specified treatment at study start. * Patient has received any other investigational product within 28 days of study entry. * Prior therapy with an anti-Programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1), anti-PD L1, anti-Programmed cell death-ligand 2 (anti-PD-L2), anti-CD137 (4-1BB ligand, a member of the Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor (TNFR) family), or anti-Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (anti-CTLA-4) antibody (including ipilimumab or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell co-stimulation or checkpoint pathways). * Female subjects who are pregnant, breast-feeding or male/female patients of reproductive potential who are not employing an effective method of birth control (failure rate of less than 1% per year). \[Acceptable methods of contraception are: implants, injectable contraceptives, combined oral contraceptives, intrauterine pessars (only hormonal devices), sexual abstinence or vasectomy of the partner\]. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test (serum β-HCG) at screening. * Patient with any significant history of non-compliance to medical regimens or with inability to grant reliable informed consent.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) 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
1 site. 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
-
Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University
RECRUITINGShanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200032, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can two immunotherapy drugs make liver tumors more vulnerable to surgery?
- Saline barrier lets heat target liver tumors near the diaphragm
- Can a new PET tracer spot liver cancer more clearly?
- Can a smart drug starve liver tumors without harming healthy tissue?
- Liver size may hold key to immunotherapy response
- Can a new model forecast liver cancer in hepatitis b?