enrollment was too low

To determine the efficacy and toxicity of TACE combined with SBRT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most deadly cancer in the world. It is primarily seen in areas where hepatitis is endemic, such as Asia, but other risk factors include alcoholic cirrhosis.

Outcome of this disease is poor, mostly due to the fact that >80% of patients present with unresectable disease. Surgery or transplantation remain the only curative options. For the vast majority of patients who are unresectable, a variety of treatment options are available, including transarterial chemo-embolization (TACE), radiofrequency ablation, radioactive microspheres, microwave coagulation, laser-induced thermotherapy, and percutaneous alcohol injection, all of which have similar survival rates. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for unresectable HCC is a relatively new treatment option made available because of great improvements in diagnostic imaging and radiation delivery techniques. Although follow-up is limited, results show encouraging local control rates. Some investigators have combined TACE with fractionated radiotherapy as a means of intensifying local therapy, with some evidence of benefit.

TACE remains the dominant mode of local therapy for unresectable HCC. However, recurrence rates are high. The recent randomized trial suggests that a combination of local therapy (TACE and radiofrequency ablation [RFA]) is superior to either therapy alone, providing proof of principle that combined local treatment is most likely more effective for HCC. Because SBRT is rapidly becoming an accepted local therapy for hepatic lesions, its role in treating HCC needs to be further defined. Studies combining TACE and external beam radiotherapy have shown encouraging results, so the logical next step is to combine TACE with SBRT, which delivers a radiobiologically more intensive dose of radiation. However, toxicity data are lacking, since this combination has not been previously reported.

We propose to conduct a trial of trans-arterial chemo-embolization (TACE) and SBRT for unresectable HCC.

Inclusion -

• Liver tumors treatable by SBRT not to exceed 10cm in greatest axial dimension.

  • 800 cc of uninvolved liver
  • Patients may have additional hepatic lesions if they are <3cm and can be treated with TACE or RFA.

• Age > 18 years old

• Albumin > 2.4 g/dL.

• Total bilirubin < 3 mg/dL.

• INR ≤ 1.5.

• Creatinine < 2.0 mg/dL.

• Confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma by one of the following:

  • Histopathology
  • Two radiographic techniques (out of US, MRI, CT, Angiography) that confirm a lesion >2 cm with arterial hypervascularization
  • One radiographic technique that confirms a lesion >2 cm with arterial hypervascularization and an elevated AFP

• Hepatic lesion in patients for whom surgical resection is not possible or would not result in an opportunity for cure

• Tumor(s) <10cm

• Eastern Clinical Oncology Group performance status 0, 1 or 2

• No prior surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation for the current tumor

• Patients placed on the liver transplant registry are eligible for this trial, but will be withdrawn from the protocol if they receive liver transplantation.

• TACE done prior to study enrollment is allowed if there were no more than 3 procedures within an 18 week period and SBRT can begin within 12 weeks of the last TACE procedure.

Exclusion -

• Prior radiotherapy to the upper abdomen
• Prior TACE, RFA, or liver transplant
• Tumor(s) ≥ 10cm
• Large esophageal varices without band ligation
• Active GI bleed or within 2 weeks of study enrollment
• Ascites refractory to medical therapy
• Contraindication to receiving radiotherapy
• Women who are pregnant
• Administration of any systemic cytotoxic agents within the last 12 months
• Presence of extrahepatic metastases
• Participation in another concurrent treatment protocol

25 months. The adverse events for recorded for the entire study period.

The low enrollment of patients led to the study being terminated before the full sample size could be reached. This resulted in a smaller than anticipated pool of patients to be analyzed and conclusions that are more difficult to generalize.