EGCG for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Chemoprevention

HCC risk level at baseline and post-treatment will be determined as Prognostic Liver Secretome signature (PLSec) score, ranging from 0 (lowest risk) to 8 (highest risk).

Change in the biomarker-based HCC risk level will be calculated as delta-PLSec by subtracting the post-treatment PLSec score from the baseline pre-treatment PLSec score. delta-PLSec values will be compared between the EGCG and placebo arms using two-sample t-test.

Adverse events are monitored at least monthly and graded/recorded according to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5. The number and severity of adverse events will be tabulated and summarized across all grades. Grade 3+ adverse events will be similarly described and summarized separately.

Quality of life (QOL) will be measured by using the chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ), which consists of 29 questions. Participants can select one answer from seven choices of descriptive answers for each question. Frequency distributions, graphical techniques and other descriptive measures will be used to summarize the results. When frequencies are compared, Fisher's exact test will be used.

When optional liver biopsy tissue is obtained, modulation of hepatic gene expression-based signature associated with HCC risk, Prognostic Liver Signature (PLS) is measured by comparing pre- and post-treatment liver biopsy samples. Change in HCC risk level will be quantified as combined enrichment score (CES) by comparing between the 2 time points. A positive and negative CES values indicate worsening and improvement of the PLS, respectively. Absolute value of the CES indicate magnitude of reduction (i.e., negative value) or increase (i.e., positive value) of HCC risk level. There is no defined range of CES. CES values are compared between the EGCG and placebo arms using two-sample t-test.

When optional liver biopsy tissue is obtained, change of immunohistochemical markers of cellular proliferation (Ki67), hepatic neoplasia (GST-p), cellular senescence (beta-gal), fibrogenesis (alpha-SMA) will be assessed using formalin-fixed pre-treatment paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Positivity for all of the markers will be quantified by higher intensity at pixel levels in captured images using the ImageJ software. The measurements are compared between the EGCG and placebo arms using one-sample t-test.

The participants will be regularly followed every 6 months for HCC development for their life time. HCC diagnosis is based on the American Association for Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) clinical practice guidelines. Time to HCC development will be calculated as days between the treatment initiation data and date of HCC diagnosis. Cumulative HCC incidence will be compared between the treatment arms using log-rank test and Cox regression within and beyond the study period. This exploratory analysis will be performed through study completion with an anticipated average time frame of 1 year.