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TACE+RFA Versus TACE Alone for Intermediate-stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma

NCT02435953 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE3 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 241

Last updated 2026-03-31

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The current standard treatment for intermediate-stage HCC (BCLC stage B) is transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) alone. The combination of TACE with RFA has also reported to be an effective treatment for HCC. Some prospective studies have shown that TACE combined with RFA have better efficacy than any of them alone for early stage HCC (single tumor ≤5 cm). However, to the investigators' knowledge, there have not been any prospective studies to assess whether TACE combined sequentially with RFA is more effective than TACE alone for the treatment of intermediate-stage HCC. The investigators hypothesized that the combination of TACE and RFA might result in better patient survival than TACE alone. Thus, the purpose of this study was to prospectively compare the effects of sequential TACE-RFA with TACE alone for the treatment of intermediate-stage HCC. Intermediate-stage HCC in this study was defined as 2-3 intrahepatic lessions, largest tumor size 3-7 cm or 4-10 intrahepatic lessions, largest tumor size ≤7 cm; ECOG-PS 0; Child-pugh A or B7; no tumor thrombus or extrahepatic metastases.

Conditions

Interventions

PROCEDURE

TACE

A catheter (or a microcatheter for cases where small vessels and branches cannot be accessed with a standard angiographic catheter) will be advanced selectively or superselectively into the right or left hepatic artery or the feeding arteries directly supplying the tumor. Depending on tumor size, location, blood supply, and liver function, the interventional radiologist administers a cytotoxic agent and lipiodol emulsion (30 mg lobaplatin, 30 mg pirarubicin, and \< 15 mL lipiodol) through the catheter. Following drug infusion, embolization of the tumor vessels will be routinely performed using gelatin sponge particles.

PROCEDURE

RFA

Commercial electrode systems are used and the ablation therapy is to be performed according to manufacturer's standard recommendations. All lesions are targeted with CT images during the RFA procedure.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Ming Zhao

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Ming Zhao, doctor · Principal Investigator, Clinical Professor

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-05-31
Primary Completion
2025-10-31
Completion
2025-10-31

Countries

  • China

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02435953 on ClinicalTrials.gov