💬In plain words
What the trial is, and whether it could suit you
Atezolizumab (anti-programmed death-ligand 1; anti-PD-L1) in conjunction with bevacizumab (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor; anti-VEGF) has become the established standard first-line systemic treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite an improved objective response rate (ORR) of 27%, the majority of patients face HCC progression and liver failure \[Finn et al., N Engl J Med 2020\]. Developing a new combined treatment strategy to overcome resistance to anti-PD-L1 and anti-VEGF is essential to improve patient outcomes.
Radiation treatment (RT) is notably effective in managing localized solid tumors and is a fundamental component of unresectable HCC treatment. Recent retrospective cohorts have demonstrated that proton RT targeting all hepatic tumors, along with PD-L1/programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade, enhances ORR and progression-free survival for unresectab
Sign in to get the eligibility rules as simple questions to take to your doctor.
📋 Eligibility rules (as published)
Inclusion Criteria:
* Participants must have diagnosis of HCC that is deemed unsuitable for surgical resection or transplant. Participants may have multiple lesions with a total maximal tumor dimension of \< 20 cm, and no one lesion \> 15 cm. Diagnosis should be confirmed by at least 1 criterion listed below:
* Histologically or cytologically proven diagnosis of HCC.
* Typical arterial enhancement and delayed washout on multiphasic CT or MRI.
* Age ≥18 years at the time of signing informed consent document.
* ECOG performance status 0-1.
* Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages Intermediate (B) or Advanced (C).
* Child-Pugh score 5-6 liver function within 28 days of study registration.
* Documented virology status of hepatitis B virus (HBV), as confirmed by screening HBV serology test.
* Documented virology status of hepatitis C virus (HCV), as confirmed by screening HCV serology test.
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
* Adequate bone marrow, liver, and renal function within 4 weeks before study registration
* Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,000/mm3
* Platelet count ≥ 50,000/μL
* Total bilirubin \< 2.5 mg/dL
* Serum albumin \>2.8 g/dL
* Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 × upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Prothrombin time ≤ 6 seconds prolonged
* Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL
Exclusion Criteria:
* Prior invasive malignancy unless disease free for a minimum of 2 years
* Prior radiotherapy to the region of the liver that would result in overlap of radiation therapy fields
* Prior selective internal radiotherapy/hepatic arterial yttrium therapy, at any time
* Untreated active hepatitis B or hepatitis C
* Moderate to severe or intractable ascites
* Presence of distant metastases that cannot be encompassed by proton radiotherapy
* Untreated or incomplete treated esophageal or gastric varices
* Severe, active co-morbidity, defined as follows:
* Unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the last 6 months prior to registration
* Myocardial infarction within the last 6 months prior to study entry
* Acute bacterial or fungal infection requiring intravenous antibiotics within 28 days prior to study entry
* A bleeding episode within 6 months prior to study entry due to any cause.
* Thrombolytic therapy within 28 days prior to study entry.
* Known bleeding or clotting disorder.
* Uncontrolled psychotic disorder
* Pregnancy or women of childbearing potential and men who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of contraception
* Prior solid organ transplantation.
* Prior or active autoimmune disease (AID) including autoimmune hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, Wegener granulomatosis, Sjogren's syndrome, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.
* Prior or active thrombotic or bleeding disorders, hemoptysis, cerebral vascular accident, significant cardiac disease (ischemic or congestive heart failure), or gastrointestinal perforation.
* Inability to treat all sites of disease by proton radiotherapy (such as extrahepatic metastases or massive liver tumors whereby the liver constraints \[ULV/SLV \>40%\] cannot be met for covering all sites of liver tumors using proton radiotherapy.)
* Known HIV infection.