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RecruitingNCT06605664Updated Sep 29, 2026

Hyperpolarized 13C-MRI in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Radiotherapy, Atezolizumab, and Bevacizumab

A Phase 2 interventional study of Hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MRI in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), sponsored by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-29.

Sponsored by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital · Phase 2, Interventional, and Diagnostic

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
45
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Increased pyruvate-to-lactate conversion is a hallmark of HCC metabolism. In parallel, activation of pro-inflammatory immune cells triggers a metabolic switch towards anaerobic glycolysis. Hyperpolarized carbon-13 (13C) pyruvate MRI is a state-of-the-art non-invasive imaging method that offers real-time insights into tissue metabolism. Recent studies have demonstrated its promising potential in predicting responses to radiotherapy and immunotherapy in solid tumors, given the significance of pyruvate as a downstream metabolite in glycolysis. However, its application in assessing treatment response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients remains unclear. The establishment of quantitative imaging biomarkers for predicting responses to radio-immunotherapy is an unmet need in the management of HCC patients.

While radiotherapy (RT) effectively controls localized tumors through the induction of unrepairable DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) and cell death, its therapeutic efficacy on distal, non-irradiated tumor cells is limited, with out-of-field recurrence being a common pattern of failure in HCC patients treated with high-dose irradiation. Atezolizumab (anti-programmed death-ligand 1; anti-PD-L1) in conjunction with bevacizumab (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor; anti-VEGF) has recently emerged as the standard first-line systemic treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite an objective response rate (ORR) of only 27%, the majority of patients succumb to HCC progression and liver failure. Our preclinical study (Hsieh et al., Science Immunology 2022) uncovered that RT, when combined with PD-L1/PD-1 blockade, induces immunogenic cell death and tumor antigen cross-presentation in antigen-presenting cells, enhancing systemic antitumor T cell responses in murine tumor models. Recent retrospective cohorts suggest that RT targeting all hepatic tumors combined with PD-L1/programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade is associated with an improved ORR and median progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with unresectable HCC, demonstrating a favorable safety profile. The synergistic antitumor effects of this combination therapy with RT, atezolizumab, and bevacizumab have led to its increasing adoption in routine clinical practice.

This phase II non-randomized trial aims to prospectively investigate the predictive value of hyperpolarized 13C-MRI, along with comprehensive metabolomics and radiomics analyses, for immune response assessment including tumor control outcomes and toxicity in patients with HCC undergoing radiotherapy, atezolizumab, and bevacizumab.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Keywords

  • Hyperpolarized 13C-MRI
  • HCC
  • Radiotherapy
  • Metabolomics
  • Atezolizumab
  • Bevacizumab
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Participants must have diagnosis of HCC that is deemed unsuitable for surgical resection or transplant and will undergo radiotherapy, atezolizumab, and bevacizumab. Participants may have multiple lesions with a total maximal tumor dimension of \< 20 cm, and no one lesion > 15 cm. Diagnosis should be confirmed by at least 1 criteria listed below:

    • Histologically or cytologically proven diagnosis of HCC.
    • Typical arterial enhancement and delayed washout on multiphasic CT or MRI.
  2. Age ≥18 years at the time of signing informed consent document.
  3. ECOG performance status 0-1.
  4. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages Intermediate (B) or Advanced (C).
  5. Child-Pugh score 5-6 liver function within 28 days of study registration.
  6. Documented virology status of hepatitis B virus (HBV), as confirmed by screening HBV serology test.
  7. Documented virology status of hepatitis C virus (HCV), as confirmed by screening HCV serology test.
  8. Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
  9. Adequate bone marrow, liver, and renal function within 4 weeks before study registration

    • Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
    • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,000/mm3
    • Platelet count ≥ 50,000/μL
    • Total bilirubin \< 2.5 mg/dL
    • Serum albumin >2.8 g/dL
    • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 × upper limit of normal (ULN)
    • Prothrombin time ≤ 6 seconds prolonged
    • Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL
  10. The medical team, experienced in liver cancer treatment, has evaluated and confirmed that the benefits outweigh the risks for participants receiving proton or photon radiation therapy combined with atezolizumab and bevacizumab.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Prior invasive malignancy unless disease free for a minimum of 2 years
  2. Prior radiotherapy to the region of the liver that would result in overlap of radiation therapy fields
  3. Prior selective internal radiotherapy/hepatic arterial yttrium therapy, at any time
  4. Untreated active hepatitis B or hepatitis C
  5. Moderate to severe or intractable ascites
  6. Presence of distant metastases
  7. Untreated or incomplete treated esophageal or gastric varices
  8. Severe, active co-morbidity, defined as follows:

    • Unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the last 6 months prior to registration
    • Myocardial infarction within the last 6 months prior to study entry
    • Acute bacterial or fungal infection requiring intravenous antibiotics within 28 days prior to study entry
    • A bleeding episode within 6 months prior to study entry due to any cause.
    • Thrombolytic therapy within 28 days prior to study entry.
    • Known bleeding or clotting disorder.
    • Uncontrolled psychotic disorder
  9. Pregnancy or women of childbearing potential and men who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of contraception
  10. Prior solid organ transplantation.
  11. Prior or active autoimmune disease (AID) including autoimmune hepatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, Wegener granulomatosis, Sjogren's syndrome, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.
  12. Prior or active thrombotic or bleeding disorders, hemoptysis, cerebral vascular accident, significant cardiac disease (ischemic or congestive heart failure), or gastrointestinal perforation.
  13. Inability to treat all sites of disease by proton radiotherapy (such as extrahepatic metastases or massive liver tumors whereby the liver constraints cannot be met for covering all sites of liver tumors using radiotherapy.)
  14. Known HIV infection.
  15. Conditions not suitable for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) include the presence of strongly magnetic arterial clips in the brain, cardiac pacemakers, cochlear implants, and claustrophobia.
  16. Concurrent medical conditions that may impact patients during MRI examination include active infections, symptomatic congestive heart failure, uncontrollable angina, arrhythmias, mental disorders, difficulty breathing, or diarrhea.
  17. An endoscopy report within the past six months indicates a high risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and the patient has not received complete treatment for its prevention.
  18. Individuals who are allergic to hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate, atezolizumab, bevacizumab, or any ingredients contained in these medications.
04

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
45 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MRI

    Hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MRI before and 2-5 weeks after radiotherapy combined with atezolizumab and bevacizumab

    Diagnostic Test: Hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MRI

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testHyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MRI

    The subject enrolled in this trial will receive DNP-MRI scanning for two times through hyperpolarized \[1-13C\]pyruvate injection (\~250 mM, 0.43 mL/Kg) before and 2-5 weeks after radiotherapy.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP)

    Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) conversion flux (pyruvate-to-lactate conversion rate \[Kpl\] and area under the curve \[AUC\]) before radiotherapy combined with atezolizumab and bevacizumab

    Time frame: 4 months

  2. Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP)

    Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) conversion flux (pyruvate-to-lactate conversion rate \[Kpl\] and area under the curve \[AUC\]) 2-5 weeks after radiotherapy combined with atezolizumab and bevacizumab

    Time frame: 4 month

Secondary outcomes

  1. Progression free survival (PFS) by RECIST1.1

    PFS is defined as the time from signing the informed consent to the first occurrence of disease progression or death from any cause (whichever occurs first) according to RECIST1.1

    Time frame: 12 months

  2. Local control (LC) by RECIST1.1

    LC is defined as the time from signing the informed consent to the first occurrence of disease progression in the irradiated field according to RECIST1.1

    Time frame: 12 months

  3. Time to progression (TTP) by RECIST1.1

    TTP is defined as the time from signing the informed consent to the first occurrence of disease progression according to RECIST1.1

    Time frame: 12 months

  4. Overall Response Rate (ORR) by RECIST1.1

    ORR is defined as a complete or partial response according to RECIST1.1

    Time frame: 12 months

  5. Overall survival (OS)

    OS is defined as the time from signing the informed consent to death from any cause.

    Time frame: 12 months

  6. Incidence and severity of adverse events

    Adverse events will be graded using CTCAE v5

    Time frame: 12 months

Other outcomes

  1. Change in myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) level in peripheral blood

    We will measure the level of Lin- HLA-DR- CD11b+ MDSCs in peripheral blood using flow cytometry before and 2-5 weeks after radiotherapy.

    Time frame: 4 months

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou
    Taoyuan City, Taiwan 333, Taiwan
    • Rodney Cheng-En Hsieh, MD, PhD · Contact · rodney445@gmail.com · +886-3-328-1200
    • Rodney Cheng En HSIEH, MD, PhD · Principal investigator
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided — The sharing of individual participant data (IPD) requires IRB approval.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06605664
Lead sponsor
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Responsible party
Cheng-En Hsieh (Attending Physician, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 20, 2024
Start date
May 1, 2025
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 30, 2031 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 29, 2026

Study contacts

Rodney Cheng-En Hsieh, MD, PhD
Contact
chsieh@cgmh.org.tw
+886-3-328-1200 ext. 7000

Oversight

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

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