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RecruitingNCT03259867TATE-PD1Updated Apr 16, 2026

Combination of TATE and PD-1 Inhibitor in Liver Cancer

A Phase 2 interventional study of Nivolumab Injectable Product and Trans-arterial tirapazamine embolization in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Gastric Cancer, sponsored by Teclison Ltd.. Recruiting at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-16.

Sponsored by Teclison Ltd. · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
54
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a multi-center, open-label phase IIA study that investigates the preliminary efficacy of Trans-arterial Tirapazamine Embolization (TATE) treatment of liver cancer followed by a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor (nivolumab). Patients with two types of cancers will be enrolled, advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC),and metastatic gastric cancer. All enrolled patients need to have liver lesions and have progressed on a prior immune checkpoint inhibitor.

Read the detailed description

The goal of the study is to investigate whether tumor necrosis induced by Trans-arterial Tirapazamine Embolization (TATE) treatment can boost anti-tumor immunity and enhance the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor. Patients with advanced liver cancers (primary HCC or metastatic gastric cancer) who have progressed on a prior immune checkpoint inhibitor will be enrolled in the study. Liver lesions will be treated with up to 4 TATE treatments for optimal debulking, which also serve as a vaccination process toward tumor. Lesion not treated with TATE will be used for monitoring the response toward a PD-1 inhibitor (Nivolumab) for abscopal effect. If a patient subsequently develops an "escape" to the PD-1 inhibitor, patient can have another 2 TATE treatments of the escaped tumor lesion. Dosing of the PD-1 inhibitor is per standard FDA-approved dosing schedule and continues until progressive disease. The efficacy will be assessed by the response rate (RR) using RECIST.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hepatocellular Carcinoma
  • Gastric Cancer

Keywords

  • Hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Immune checkpoint inhibitor
  • Gastric cancer
  • Progression
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

  1. Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of (1) advanced HCC or (2) metastatic gastric cancer.
  2. Patients between ages 18 and 80
  3. If HCC patients, they should have progressive disease (PD) on an immune therapy for advanced HCC. For patients with metastatic gastric cancer, they should have failed at least one line of systemic chemotherapy and an immune checkpoint inhibitor.
  4. Patients with liver tumor lesions with at least one with a diameter of 2 cm or bigger, which is amendable for (super-)selective TATE as the target lesion.
  5. ECOG score 2 or less
  6. Child-Pugh scores 5-7 for HCC patients
  7. All prior chemotherapy at least 4 weeks prior to study treatment. Immunotherapy not subject to this limitation.
  8. No major GI bleeding in the prior 2 months.

8. Hgb>=8, platelet >= 50,000, Cr =\< 2, AST and ALT \< 10 X ULN, t-Bilirubin \< 3, 9. Patients with a history of major autoimmune disorders excluded.

04

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
54 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Advanced Hepatocellular carcinoma

    PD-1 inhibitor (Nivolumab 360 mg Q3W IV ) starts at day 1, and continues until progression. TATE treatment starts at day 8 for debulking up to 4 cycles. If escape lesion appears, two more TATE treatments can be given. Tirapazamine dose at 35 mg flat dose given before embolization.

    Drug: Nivolumab Injectable Product · Combination Product: Trans-arterial tirapazamine embolization

  • Experimental
    Metastatic Gastro-esophageal cancer

    PD-1 inhibitor (Nivolumab 360 mg Q3W IV) starts at day 1, and continues until progression. TATE treatment starts at day 8 for debulking up to 4 cycles. If escape lesion appears, two more TATE treatments can be given. Tirapazamine dose at 35 mg flat dose given before embolization.

    Drug: Nivolumab Injectable Product · Combination Product: Trans-arterial tirapazamine embolization

Interventions

  • DrugNivolumab Injectable Product

    a PD-1 immune check inhibitor

    Also known as: OPDIVO

  • Combination productTrans-arterial tirapazamine embolization

    Embolization with Lipiodol and Gelfoam

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Overall Response Rate

    Per RECIST 1.1 criteria

    Time frame: up to 24 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Duration of Response

    From the date of image-demonstrated response to the date of progression

    Time frame: up to 24 months

  2. Time to Progression

    From randomization to disease progression or death

    Time frame: up to 24 months

  3. Progression Free Survival

    From randomization to disease progression or death

    Time frame: up to 24 months

  4. Overall survival

    From randomization to death

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 3 years

06

Study locations

3 of 3 sites recruiting
  • University of California, Irvine
    Orange, California 92868, United States
    • Miranda Duron · Contact
    • · Contact · mnduron@hs.uci.edu
    • Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, MD · Principal investigator
    Recruiting
  • University of Oklahoma Health Science Center
    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, United States
    Recruiting
  • Medical College of Wisconsin
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, United States
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Liu CH, Peng CM, Hwang JI, Liang PC, Chen PJ, Abi-Jaoudeh N, Giiang LH, Tyan YS. Phase I Dose-Escalation Study of Tirapazamine Chemoembolization for Unresectable Early- and Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2022 Aug;33(8):926-933.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jvir.2022.04.031. Epub 2022 Apr 30. PubMed 35504436 ↗
  • Abi-Jaoudeh N, Dayyani F, Chen PJ, Fernando D, Fidelman N, Javan H, Liang PC, Hwang JI, Imagawa DK. Phase I Trial on Arterial Embolization with Hypoxia Activated Tirapazamine for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Hepatocell Carcinoma. 2021 May 17;8:421-434. doi: 10.2147/JHC.S304275. eCollection 2021. PubMed 34041204 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03259867
Lead sponsor
Teclison Ltd.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 24, 2017
Start date
Jul 1, 2017
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 30, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Apr 16, 2026

Study contacts

Ray Lee, MD. PhD
Contact
ray.lee01@teclison.com
8043341076
Chiwei Lu, PhD.
Contact
chiwei.lu4@teclison.com
Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, MD
principal investigator · UC Irvine Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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