About 42,000 people in the US are diagnosed with liver cancer each year, most with hepatocellular carcinoma, often arising from hepatitis, alcohol-related or fatty liver disease. Since 2020, immunotherapy combinations have replaced sorafenib as the first treatment for cancer that cannot be removed, and trials are now testing immunotherapy around surgery and alongside artery-blocking procedures.
- 991studies open or running
- 83phase 3 trials
- 11,379papers published this year
- 40NIH-funded projects
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Now
Nov 2026
Double immunotherapy as a first optionHappened 23.7 mo median survival
Nivolumab plus ipilimumab: median survival 23.7 vs 20.6 months with targeted pills.
23.7 mo: median survival with double immunotherapy, vs 20.6 with pills.
A one-time immune priming dose lasts for yearsHappened 20.7% alive at 4 years
STRIDE (durvalumab-tremelimumab): 20.7% alive at 4 years vs 15.1% with sorafenib.
20.7%: alive at 4 years with STRIDE, vs 15.1% with sorafenib.
Immunotherapy helps an artery-blocking procedureHappened
Adding durvalumab plus bevacizumab to TACE delayed tumor growth.
Immunotherapy did not prevent relapse after surgeryHappened
A year of pembrolizumab after curative surgery did not reduce relapse.
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6 months
by May 2027
Nivolumab after surgery, a different trial designPossible
CheckMate 9DX tests nivolumab after surgery or ablation in people at high risk of relapse; due May 2026.
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12 months
by Nov 2027
A three-drug combination with TACEPossible
EMERALD-3 adds lenvatinib to durvalumab, tremelimumab and TACE; due February 2026.
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3 years
by late 2029
A new immunotherapy combinationPossible
AstraZeneca's 1,220-person ARTEMIDE-HCC01 tests rilvegostomig with bevacizumab, with or without tremelimumab, as first treatment; due March 2030.
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5 years
by late 2031
Combining immunotherapy with radiationLong shot
An NRG Oncology trial tests adding focused radiation to immunotherapy; due 2029.
The research paths
First-line immunotherapy combinations
23.7 mo median survivalDetails and 1 trialsHide
Two approved double-immunotherapy regimens now compete for first use.
WatchARTEMIDE-HCC01.
Immunotherapy with local procedures
Details and 2 trialsHide
Pairing immunotherapy with TACE or radiation for tumors not removable by surgery.
WatchEMERALD-3.
Preventing relapse after surgery
Details and 1 trialsHide
One negative trial so far; a second with a different drug and design is still reading out.
WatchCheckMate 9DX.
Borrowed from other cancers
From Melanoma and kidney cancer
Nivolumab and ipilimumab
Approved
A double-immunotherapy combination first proven in other cancers.
From Colorectal and other cancers
Bevacizumab
Approved / phase 3
An anti-VEGF antibody paired with immunotherapy and with TACE.
Open to join now
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Advanced, first treatment
Rilvegostomig with bevacizumab
Locations and eligibility → -
Limited spread
Immunotherapy with or without radiation
Locations and eligibility →
See every recruiting Liver cancer trial →
When the trials finish
Completion dates the trials registered. Results usually follow 3 to 12 months later.
- Heating up
- Maturing
- Early
- Cooling
- Fully enrolled, waiting on results
- Still enrolling
What just happened
Adjuvant pembrolizumab does not prevent relapse
KEYNOTE-937, ASCO GI.
CheckMate-9DW: double immunotherapy extends survival
The Lancet.
EMERALD-1: immunotherapy helps TACE
The Lancet.
Standard treatment today
- Can be removed or ablatedSurgery or ablation; no proven drug yet prevents relapse afterward.
- Not removable, treatable with embolizationTACE, now often combined with durvalumab plus bevacizumab.
- Advanced, first treatmentDurvalumab-tremelimumab (STRIDE), nivolumab-ipilimumab, or atezolizumab-bevacizumab.
- After first treatmentA different targeted pill (lenvatinib, sorafenib, cabozantinib or regorafenib).
How to read this page, and sourcesHow to read this page, and sources
- Results above mostly apply to hepatocellular carcinoma; cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) is covered on its own outlook page.
- Forecasts are editorial judgments by Find a Trial, not predictions from sponsors or regulators.
See Liver cancer trials recruiting now →