Improving delivery of radioactive treatment for liver cancer

A Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label Study to Examine The Effects of a Pressure-Enabled Drug Delivery Device on Radiotracer Distribution Compared to a Standard Microcatheter in the Context of Radioembolization

This study is testing if a new type of catheter can deliver radioactive treatment more effectively to liver tumors while protecting healthy tissue compared to the standard method.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital (Academic / other)
• Drugs / interventions: Chemotherapy, radiation
• Locations: 2 sites (Boston, Massachusetts and 1 other locations)
• Trial ID: NCT05128032 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This study investigates whether using a specialized catheter, the Pressure Enabled Drug Delivery (PEDD)/TriNav Infusion System, enhances the delivery of radioactive microspheres during radioembolization for liver cancer compared to a standard microcatheter. It is a prospective, randomized, open-label, single-center study that aims to improve the targeting of tumors while minimizing damage to healthy liver tissue. Participants will undergo a mapping procedure to evaluate blood supply and determine optimal catheter positioning before treatment. The study will assess the effectiveness of the catheter in delivering a radiotracer to liver tumors, which may correlate with improved treatment outcomes.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates include adults with liver cancer or metastatic colorectal cancer that are not suitable for curative surgery or thermal ablation and have measurable disease.

Not a fit: Patients with liver tumors that can be treated with curative resection or thermal ablation may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lead to better tumor response rates and reduced liver toxicity for patients undergoing radioembolization.

How similar studies have performed: While the use of specialized catheters in similar contexts has shown promise, this specific approach is novel and has not been extensively tested in prior studies.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Known HCC or CLM that are not amenable to curative resection or thermal ablative techniques such as microwave ablation.
* Prior clinical decision for treatment by radioembolization.
* Disease that is visible on CT or MRI as well as measurable disease in the liver. Measurable is defined as at least one lesion in the expected treatment field that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter) as (≥1 cm) with CT scan or MRI.
* Age ≥18 years. Because there is limited data with respect to radioembolization in patients \<18 years of age with respect to tumor dosimetry and associated adverse events participants \<18 years of age, children are excluded from this study.
* ECOG performance status \< 2 (Karnofsky ≥60%, see Appendix A).
* Life expectancy \>16 weeks.
* Suitable target artery diameter(s), defined in the TriNav labelling as 1.5 to 3.5mm vessels, based upon pre-procedural imaging.
* Adequate organ and marrow function as defined below:

  * International Normalized Ratio (INR): ≤ 1.5
  * Hemoglobin: ≥ 8.5 g/dL
  * Leukocytes: ≥2,000/mcL
  * Absolute neutrophil count: ≥1,00/mcL
  * Platelets: ≥50,000/mcL(after transfusion, if necessary)
  * Total bilirubin: ≤2.0 mg/dL
  * Albumin: ≥3 g/dL
  * AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT): ≤6 × institutional ULN
  * Glomerular filtration rate (GFR): 30 mL/min/1.73 m2
* Child Pugh Score A, or B7 with bilirubin ≤ 2 mg/dL.
* If extrahepatic disease is present (e.g. brain metastases), such disease must be stable, under treatment, or not an imminent threat to the patient's life or quality of life.
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
* Prior to study entry women of child-bearing potential must agree to not become pregnant, nurse a baby, or use any milk expressed for 2 weeks following radioembolization. Men must agree to not father a baby for 2 months after treatment with radioembolization (This is confirmed during the consenting process and documented when the patient signs the informed consent form. The effects of Yttrium-90 and radiation associated with the procedures, radiotracers, and subsequent imaging are known to have teratogenic effects on the developing human fetus. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother breastfeeding should be discontinued for the duration of study participation.)
* For HCC patients: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stage: A, B, C.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study.
* Unresolved toxicities related to cancer therapy that the investigator will continue and compromise patient safety.
* History of hepatic encephalopathy; history of severe peripheral allergy or intolerance to contrast agents, narcotics, sedatives, or atropine that cannot be managed medically.
* Uncontrolled intercurrent illness.
* Psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements.
* Prior external beam radiation treatment to the liver or prior intra-arterial liver-directed therapy including transarterial bland embolization, chemoembolization or radioembolization.
* Contraindications to angiography and selective visceral catheterization, including bleeding diathesis or uncorrectable coagulopathy.
* \> 50% of tumor involvement of the liver.
* Receipt of intervention for the Ampulla of Vater or compromise thereof.
* Child-Pugh B8 or greater.
* Evidence of thrombosis in the main portal vein.
* For CLM patients: evidence of cirrhosis or portal hypertension.
* For CLM: Clinically-evident ascites other than trace noted on imaging.

Where this trial is running

Boston, Massachusetts and 1 other locations

• Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Recruiting)
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Patrick D Sutphin, MD, PhD — Massachusetts General Hospital
• Study coordinator: Patrick D Sutphin, MD, PhD

Conditions Liver Cancer; Hepatocellular Carcinoma; Metastatic Colorectal Cancer