Can eating only during an 8-10 hour window help liver cancer patients?
NCT ID NCT06824974
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is testing whether a time-restricted eating plan (eating only during an 8-10 hour window each day) combined with a healthy plant-based diet is safe and doable for people with liver cancer, cirrhosis, or fatty liver disease. Fifty overweight or obese adults will either follow the diet program with coaching for six months or be in an observation group. The goal is to see if people can stick with the diet and if it improves liver health and quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- time-restricted eating plus healthy diet
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple dietary approach to improve liver health and quality of life for people with liver cancer or liver disease.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study with only 50 participants. It is designed to test if the diet is practical and safe, not to prove it works. Results may not apply to everyone.
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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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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Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
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. Overweight or obese (BMI 27-45 kg/m2) 2. Diagnosed with metabolic-dysfunction associated steatitic liver disease (MASLD/NAFLD), metabolic-dysfunction associated steatohepatitis, cirrhosis or liver cancer (BCLC early to intermediate stage HCC) 3. English or Spanish speaking over the age of 18. 4. ECOG Performance Status ≤ 2. 5. Usual nightly fasting \<12 hours 6. Willing to comply with all study procedures 7. Life expectancy of \> 12 months Exclusion Criteria: 1. Advanced HCC, progression, and/or associated comorbidities 2. Metastatic disease, tumor in vein, or ascites 3. Advanced Cirrhosis (hypoalbuminemia/Child-Pugh B+C). 4. Poorly controlled or refractory (grade 3-4) hepatic encephalopathy 5. Type 1 diabetes or self-reported hypoglycemia or hypoglycemic events by CGM 6. Participation in another conflicting study that requires modification of diet or food timing. 7. Patients on GLP-1 receptor agonists 8. Uncontrollable eating pattern (e.g., wasting, Night Eating Syndrome, disordered eating habits, food insecurity) 9. Medications that markedly impact metabolic study biomarkers. 10. Other cancer in last 10 years (other than nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma of the cervix in situ) 11. Serious medical conditions such as chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, or any condition that would interfere with participation in the trial. 12. Unresolved toxicity ≥ CTCAE Grade 2 from previous anti-cancer therapy 13. Active alcohol abuse or less than 6 months of sobriety 14. Participation in a trial of an investigational agent within the prior 30 days 15. Pregnancy or lactating, positive hCG urine test.
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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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University of California San Diego
RECRUITINGLa Jolla, California, 92093, United States
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