Description Module
The Description Module contains narrative descriptions of the clinical trial, including a brief summary and detailed description. These descriptions provide important information about the study's purpose, methodology, and key details in language accessible to both researchers and the general public.
Description Module path is as follows:
Study -> Protocol Section -> Description Module
Description Module
Ignite Creation Date:
2025-12-24 @ 1:59 PM
Ignite Modification Date:
2025-12-24 @ 1:59 PM
NCT ID:
NCT01657695
Brief Summary:
Our long-term objective is to develop a new tool based on a (molecular-biology) integrated imaging technology able to characterize and categorize hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients in need of liver transplant (LT). To this end, our study aims at correlating specific imaging traits and fractional growth of individual tumors collected over a restricted time frame (T0 and at week 7 after first tumor detection), with a "molecular signature", obtained by custom microarray, histochemical and cytokine analysis. This should allow us to translate a series of purely morphologic information into a meaningful pathobiologic data sets. Validation of the integrated molecular-imaging tool will be performed prospectively by correlating the imaging-molecular data with HCC outcome in term of survival and disease-free survival after down staging procedures.
Detailed Description:
Organ allocation in our region is regulated according to MELD score. Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receive an additional score depending on size of the tumor and the time spent in transplant waiting list. However, the advantage given to these patients is uniform and does not take into account the profound biological heterogeneity of individual HCCs. To make the additional score righteous, the investigators need to identify patients with aggressively growing HCC who require salvage transplantation while those with slow-growing HCC do not deserve the additional score.
All cirrhotics with suspect HCC identified at routine US screening will be therefore enrolled in the prospective imaging and bio-molecular study.
They will be subjected to two computed tomography (CT) exams at 7 weeks interval to define fractional tumor growth and imaging traits, baseline US-guided liver biopsy for microarray and histochemical characterization, serum sampling for cytokine assay. Survival, disease-free survival after downstaging and transplant outcome will be recorded and analyzed in relation with imaging and molecular data. The investigators expect to set up an accurate imaging and molecular diagnostic tool able to identify patients with aggressive HCC requiring urgent access to transplant, reliable in predicting survival, standardisable and not too expensive.
Study:
NCT01657695
Study Brief:
Protocol Section:
NCT01657695