ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT04996914ASTrHUpdated May 11, 2026

Adjuvant Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy After Trans-arterial Chemoembolization in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

An interventional study of TACE and SBRT in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Non-resectable, sponsored by RWTH Aachen University. Recruiting at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-11.

Sponsored by RWTH Aachen University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started May 2026; still recruiting 6 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The study investigates the adjuvant SBRT following TACE in early and intermediate stages HCC not amenable for surgical resection.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hepatocellular Carcinoma Non-resectable
03

In context

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

3,648 studies on the registry are indexed under Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; 1,061 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 54 across 2,618 interventional studies indexed under Carcinoma, Hepatocellular.

Browse Carcinoma, Hepatocellular studies →

Lead sponsor

RWTH Aachen University is the lead sponsor of 230 studies on the registry; 19 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

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

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • HCC (diagnosis: histological or radiological)
  • Age: 18-80
  • Number of lesions 1-3 lesions
  • Size of the lesion (or sum of 2-3 lesions) ≥ 4 cm
  • Sufficient non-tumorous liver volume (≥ 800 cm3)
  • Score: A5-6 or B7-8
  • BCLC A or B
  • Patient is illegible or refused surgical resection or orthotopic liver transplant
  • Blood work (within 2 weeks before registration):
  • (ANC) ≥ 1,500 cells/mm³)
  • ≥50,000 cells/mm³
  • (and ALT) \< 5 times
  • Serum creatinine ≤ ULN or ≥ 50 mL/min

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Evidence of extrahepatic disease (lymph node or distant )
  • Evidence of macroscopic vascular invasion
  • Evidence of an arterio-portal or arterio-venous fistulas
  • History of previous
  • Previous SIRT
  • Previous Sorafenib in the last 8 weeks
  • Pregnant and lactating females
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(8)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Child-Pugh class

A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    TACE+SBRT.

    If a patient is eligible to participate in the project according to the in- and exclusion criteria, the patient will assigned to 1-2 sessions of TACE followed by SBRT within one month from last TACE session .

    Procedure: TACE · Radiation: SBRT

Interventions

  • ProcedureTACE

    1-2 session TACE before SBRT according to the preference of the interventional radiologist. Goal of TACE is the complete emnbolization of the HCC-nodules. It is allowed to use both conventional TACE (cTACE) and drug-eluting beads TACE (DEB-TACE) according to the interventional radiologist preference.

  • RadiationSBRT

    SBRT should be 1 month after last TACE. This can be extended till 2 months if indicated. However, prolongation of the gap between TACE and SBRT is not encouraged. Treatment center should choose one of fractionation schedule mentioned allowed in the study, in order to achieve a balance between dose applied for tumor control and constraints for OAR PTV Dose in 5 / 8 fractions (Gy) EQD2 (α/β 10Gy) 5x 8-6 Gy @ 83% isodose = 40-30 Gy (60-40 Gy) 8 x 6-4.5 Gy @ 83% isodose = 48-36 Gy (64-43.5 Gy)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. 1-year local control rate

    After one year from the treatment, the precentage with alive subjects with no signs of local progression (the irradiated lesion). Local progression defined as more than 20% increase in diameter of enhancing tumor on contrast-enhanced CT scan in arterial phase or a new tumor mass within the original tumor volume according to modified RECIST criteria (mRECIST)

    Time frame: 12 Months

Secondary outcomes

  1. 1- year progression free survival

    After one year from the end of the treatment, the percentage of alive subjects without the apperance of new hepatic and/or extra-heaptic new lesions outside the SBRT-field. This will be measured using contrast-enhanced CT scan Liver/Abdomen and Thorax

    Time frame: 12 Months

  2. Qualtiy of life based on EORTC QLQC30

    alive subjects will fill quality of life questionnaires (EORTC QLQC30) before the treatment and after 3,6 and 12 months after. The results before and after the treatment will be presented in comaprsion to the reference data.

    Time frame: 12 Months

  3. Quality of life based on EORTC QLQ-HCC18

    alive subjects will fill quality of life questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-HCC18) before the treatment and after 3,6 and 12 months after. The results before and after the treatment will be presented in comaprsion to the reference data.

    Time frame: 12 Months

  4. Possibility of a secondary resection/organ transplant

    Possibility of a secondary resection/organ transplant (Yes/ No)

    Time frame: 3 Years

  5. Side effects

    will be reported based on Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 5 and Child Pugh Score change till 6 months after the study

    Time frame: 6 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started May 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for May 2028, 24 months after the start.

Of 360 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, half reached primary completion within 48 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 24 and three quarters within 76. This study's planned 24 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 384 studies reached it within 47 months; a quarter within 23 and three quarters within 75.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jul 2, 2021
First posted
Aug 9, 2021
StartActual
May 5, 2026
Primary completionEst.
May 5, 2028
CompletionEst.
May 5, 2029
Last update
May 11, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 11, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04996914
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 9, 2021
Start date
May 5, 2026
Primary completion
May 5, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
May 5, 2029 (estimated)
Last update
May 11, 2026

Study contacts

Ahmed Allam Mohamed, MBBS,MSc, MD
Contact
amohamed@ukaachen.de
+49241 80-8926
Michael J. Eble, Professor Dr. med.
study chair · University medical center RWTH Aachen
Philipp Bruners, Professor Dr. med.
study chair · University medical center RWTH Aachen
Ahmed Allam Mohamed, MBBS, MSc, MD
study chair · University medical center RWTH Aachen
Oliver Beetz, Prof. Dr.med . MHBA
study chair · University medical center RWTH Aachen
Marie-Luise Berres, Prof. Dr.med.
study chair · University medical center RWTH Aachen

Oversight

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

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