Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital
Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, 300060, China
NCT Number: NCT07658105
Tumor recurrence is the leading cause of death and a major bottleneck for long-term survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, there is an urgent clinical need for effective postoperative adjuvant therapies to reduce postoperative recurrence and improve long-term survival, especially for HCC patients with high-risk factors. However, no standard adjuvant treatment regimen has been established so far, and domestic and international guidelines have not reached a consensus on relevant recommendations. It is generally recognized that postoperative antiviral therapy with nucleoside analogues and interferon yields definite benefits for patients with HBV- or HCV-related HCC, particularly those in Asian populations. Some interventions have been proven ineffective. For instance, the majority of studies have demonstrated that postoperative chemotherapy fails to bring survival benefits and may even lead to worse prognosis in HCC patients. Besides, multiple treatment modalities including transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), radiotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy are still under investigation.
MVI has been well documented as a strong high-risk factor for postoperative recurrence of HCC. The presence of MVI indicates the capacity of tumor cells for local invasion and distant metastasis. According to the number and location of microscopic tumor foci observed under pathological microscopy, MVI is classified into three grades: (1) M0: No microscopic tumor foci detected; (2) M1: No more than 5 microscopic foci within 1 cm adjacent to the primary tumor; (3) M2: More than 5 microscopic foci or foci located beyond 1 cm from the primary tumor. A retrospective study from Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University enrolled 661 HCC patients who developed recurrence within 5 years after curative resection, and reported that the rate of MVI positivity was 31.6% among these recurrent cases. Another retrospective study conducted at Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital of Shanghai involving 496 HCC patients showed that patients with MVI had significantly lower recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with those without MVI. A series of studies have been carried out to explore postoperative adjuvant treatments for resectable HCC patients complicated with MVI. A phase III randomized controlled trial conducted by Wei et al. revealed that for patients with single resectable HCC (tumor ≥ 5 cm) combined with MVI, postoperative adjuvant TACE (1 to 2 cycles) achieved a median disease-free survival (DFS) of 17.45 months (95% CI: 11.99-29.14), versus 9.27 months (95% CI: 6.05-13.70) in the active surveillance group (HR=0.70, p=0.020). In addition, Li et al. evaluated the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant FOLFOX-based hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) in resectable HCC patients with MVI. The results demonstrated that adjuvant HAIC could significantly prolong DFS, with a median DFS of 20.3 months versus 10.0 months (p=0.001). Collectively, active postoperative intervention is clinically meaningful for resectable HCC patients with MVI.
In recent years, tumor immunotherapy represented by immune checkpoint inhibitors, including antibodies against programmed death-1 (PD-1), programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), has gradually become a key therapeutic strategy for malignancies. Tumor cells can inhibit T cell activity and evade immune surveillance by expressing immune checkpoint ligands. Blockade of these immune checkpoints can enhance the proliferation, survival and cytotoxicity of T cells, thereby exerting anti-tumor effects. Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies have exhibited favorable efficacy in a variety of solid tumors.
Given the high postoperative recurrence risk of resectable HCC with MVI and the lack of consensus on standard adjuvant regimens, as well as the proven efficacy of PD-1 monoclonal antibodies and HAIC in this setting in previous randomized controlled trials, we designed a prospective, single-center, open-label, phase II cohort study. This study aims to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and safety of eparlitozoviril (dual PD-1/CTLA-4 immunotherapy), compared with active surveillance, in resectable HCC patients with MVI. The findings of this study may provide evidence for the optimization of postoperative adjuvant treatment for HCC.
This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.
18 year–75 year
All sexes
Interventional
Phase 2
Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, 300060, China
Healthy volunteers accepted: No
Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.
Inclusion criteria
Hematology:
Serum biochemistry:
Coagulation function:
International normalized ratio (INR) or prothrombin time (PT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN; Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN
Exclusion criteria
Uncontrolled hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, ascites, pleural effusion or pericardial effusion.
Active infections:
Eparlitozoviril: 7.5 mg/kg iv q3w. Treatment duration: up to 6 months, or until disease recurrence, death or intolerable AEs.
Active surveillance, every 3 months, until disease recurrence, death.
Time frame: Time from treatment start to disease recurrence, at 1 year.
The percentage of participants who remain free of disease recurrence at 1 year after treatment.
Time frame: Time from treatment start to disease recurrence, at 2 year.
The percentage of participants who remain free of disease recurrence at 2 year after treatment.
Time frame: Time from treatment initiation to death from any cause, an average of 3 years.
The total time from study enrollment to death from any cause.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 12 months
AEs will be graded per NCI-CTCAE v5.0. Evaluate overall AE rate, grade-specific AE rate, Grade ≥3 AE rate and SAE rate.
Time frame: From treatment start to disease recurrence, an average of 2 years.
The time interval between treatment completion and the first detection of disease recurrence.
Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital
Other
Eparlitozoviril (Apalolithovolrelimab) as Adjuvant Therapy After Resection for Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Microvascular Invasion (MVI): A Prospective, Single-Center, Phase II Cohort Study
Acronym: Ad-rHCC
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View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.
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