The Role Of Circulating Tumor Cells As Markers Of Advanced Disease And Prognosis In HCC

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF MILANO BICOCCA · Mar 12, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring the role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver cancer. The researchers want to understand how these cells, which are found in the bloodstream, can help predict whether the cancer will come back after surgery. The trial will involve patients who have just been diagnosed with HCC and are scheduled for surgery with the goal of curing the disease. Participants will need to meet specific criteria, including having no previous cancer treatments and being in the early stages of HCC.

If eligible and willing to participate, patients will provide blood samples at several time points after their surgery—specifically at 30, 90, 180, and 365 days. These samples will be analyzed to look for CTCs and specific markers that may indicate the risk of cancer recurrence. This trial is currently recruiting participants and seeks to gather important information that could improve future care for patients with HCC. Overall, this study aims to better understand how the presence of these tumor cells in the blood might help doctors predict outcomes after surgery.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Hepatocarcinoma diagnosis confirmed by radiology and committed to surgery (resection or OLT) with curative intent.
• • First diagnosis and first treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
• • BCLC 0 - A - B
• • Histological confirmation of hepatocarcinoma at the histological specimen.
• • Availability of a fresh frozen section of the tumor obtained during the surgical procedures
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Other tumors in the clinical history.
• • Presence of autoimmune liver diseases (eg. sclerotising cholangitis, primary biliary cirrhosis etc.).
• • Patients treated with surgery in case of not-curative intent (palliation, best supportive care, etc).
• • Histopathological specimen of combined liver primary neoplasms (e.g. 'epatocolangiocarcinoma').
• • Patients previously treated for HCC with other therapies