ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07832006Updated Sep 21, 2026

Irreversible Electroporation Combined With Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

A Phase 2 interventional study of Irreversible Electroporation and Lenvatinib in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), sponsored by Shunda Du. Recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-21.

Sponsored by Shunda Du · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 2 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Apr 2025, registered Jun 2026).
  • Started Apr 2025; still recruiting 1 year 7 months later.

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Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-14

Among 1,309 studies in Carcinoma, Hepatocellular with a site in China — 485 open to participants now, 557 under way, 70 of them phase 3. Carcinoma, Hepatocellular · China.

Planned enrollment
775th of 1,033
30 · median 78
Started
2025
with 121 others
Phase 2
330 of 1,309
143 open now
Primary completion
2028-12
later than 486 of 556 live
Registered
1,263rd of 1,309
by date

Among the 1,309 studies in Carcinoma, Hepatocellular with a site in China, this one is the 775th largest by planned enrollment of the 1,033 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 122 that started in 2025, is one of 330 in phase 2, reaches primary completion later than 486 of the 556 other live ones, and was the 1,263rd registered.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

3,650 studies on the registry are indexed under Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; 1,062 are open to participants now.

Browse Carcinoma, Hepatocellular studies →

Open to participants now

485 of the 1,309 studies in Carcinoma, Hepatocellular with a site in China are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:

480 more — sign in →

All 485 open studies →

A study can be open while its sites in China have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in China →

Who these studies take

Of the 737 Carcinoma, Hepatocellular studies recruiting now, 382 (52%) set no upper age limit and 249 (34%) stop at 75 or younger; 31 take children under 18; 31 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 18 Years to 75 Years · all sexes · no healthy volunteers.

The full table on the hub →

This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.

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Watch this landscapeDownload CSVNarrow it in search →With an account: a weekly mail of what changed among 1,309 studies in Carcinoma, Hepatocellular with a site in China, or all of them as a file.
02

Study summary

Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major therapeutic challenge. Although targeted therapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors has improved clinical outcomes, the objective response rate and conversion surgery rate remain suboptimal. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablation technique that can induce tumor cell death while preserving surrounding vascular and biliary structures. Emerging evidence suggests that IRE may enhance anti-tumor immunity and synergize with systemic therapy.

This prospective, single-center, open-label study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IRE combined with lenvatinib and sintilimab in patients with advanced HCC. Eligible patients with unresectable CNLC stage IIa, IIb, or IIIa disease will receive standard targeted therapy and immunotherapy with or without IRE according to treatment allocation. The primary endpoints are objective response rate (ORR) and conversion surgery rate. Secondary endpoints include time to response (TTR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs).

The study is expected to provide evidence regarding the role of IRE in enhancing tumor response and increasing the likelihood of curative-intent surgical resection in patients with advanced HCC.

Read the detailed description
  1. Background

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. For patients with advanced-stage disease, systemic therapy based on tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors has become the standard of care. However, only a proportion of patients achieve meaningful tumor regression, and the rate of successful conversion to surgical resection remains limited.

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel non-thermal local ablative technique that induces apoptosis through permanent disruption of cellular membranes. Unlike thermal ablation modalities, IRE preserves major blood vessels and bile ducts, making it particularly suitable for tumors adjacent to critical structures. Furthermore, preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that IRE may induce immunogenic cell death and augment anti-tumor immune responses.

  2. Study Objectives

    The primary objective of this study is to evaluate whether the addition of IRE to targeted therapy and immunotherapy improves tumor response and conversion surgery rate in patients with advanced HCC.

    The secondary objective is to assess survival outcomes and treatment-related safety.

  3. Study Design

This is a prospective, single-center, open-label interventional study. Patients with advanced HCC meeting the eligibility criteria will receive either:

IRE combined with lenvatinib and sintilimab; or Lenvatinib and sintilimab alone.

Tumor response will be evaluated according to RECIST version 1.1 and mRECIST criteria. Patients will undergo regular imaging assessments and multidisciplinary evaluation to determine eligibility for curative-intent surgical resection.

03

Conditions studied

  • Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Keywords

  • Hepatocellular Carcinoma
  • Irreversible Electroporation
  • Lenvatinib
  • Sintilimab
  • Conversion Therapy
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 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

  • Age 18 to 75 years.
  • Clinically or confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  • Unresectable HCC corresponding to CNLC stage IIa, IIb, or IIIa, without extrahepatic .
  • At least one according to version 1.1.
  • (ECOG) performance status of 0-1.
  • class A or B liver function.
  • Adequate organ function, including an ≥1.5 × 10⁹/L; count ≥75 × 10⁹/L; ≥80 g/L; serum creatinine ≤1.5 × the (ULN) or ≥50 mL/min; total ≤3 × ULN; and (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤5 × ULN.
  • Suitable for treatment with lenvatinib and sintilimab according to institutional standards.
  • Able to understand and sign written .

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of extrahepatic .
  • Previous treatment with irreversible electroporation.
  • Prior systemic therapy that precludes treatment with lenvatinib or sintilimab.
  • Diffuse infiltrative HCC not suitable for IRE evaluation.
  • Uncontrolled ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, or active gastrointestinal bleeding.
  • Active severe infection requiring systemic treatment.
  • Active tuberculosis.
  • Uncontrolled virus replication despite antiviral therapy.
  • cardiovascular disease, including uncontrolled hypertension, recent myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or severe arrhythmia.
  • Concurrent requiring active treatment.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Any condition that, in the investigator's judgment, would interfere with study participation or interpretation of the study results.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(17)

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.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Metastases

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

Measurable disease

The amount of disease can be tracked with a defined measurement, so the study can see whether it shrinks or grows. It might be a tumour measured on a scan or, in some blood cancers such as myeloma, a marker measured in blood or urine.

The criteria or the study team say which measurement counts — having no tumour visible on a scan does not by itself rule you out.

RECIST

The standard rules for measuring tumours on CT or MRI scans, to tell whether a cancer is shrinking, stable or growing during treatment.

“Measurable disease per RECIST 1.1” usually means at least one tumour 10 mm or more at its longest on a CT scan, or a lymph node 15 mm or more across its short axis.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

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.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

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.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

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.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

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
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    IRE + Lenvatinib + Sintilimab

    Patients receive irreversible electroporation combined with lenvatinib and sintilimab as conversion therapy.

    Procedure: Irreversible Electroporation · Drug: Lenvatinib · Drug: Sintilimab

  • Active comparator
    Lenvatinib + Sintilimab

    Patients receive standard targeted therapy and immunotherapy without IRE.

    Drug: Lenvatinib · Drug: Sintilimab

Interventions

  • ProcedureIrreversible Electroporation

    Percutaneous or intraoperative irreversible electroporation performed according to institutional standards.

  • Oral administration according to body weight and prescribing information.

  • 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Objective Response Rate (ORR)

    The proportion of patients achieving complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) according to RECIST version 1.1.

    Time frame: From treatment initiation until conversion surgery, first documented disease progression, or treatment discontinuation, whichever occurs first, with tumor response assessed approximately every month, up to 24 months.

  2. Conversion Surgery Rate

    Proportion of patients who undergo curative-intent surgical resection after study treatment based on multidisciplinary evaluation.

    Time frame: From treatment initiation until curative-intent conversion surgery, disease progression, or treatment discontinuation, whichever occurs first, assessed up to 24 months.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Progression-Free Survival (PFS)

    Time from treatment initiation to disease progression or death.

    Time frame: Up to 24 months

  2. Overall Survival (OS)

    Time from treatment initiation to death from any cause.

    Time frame: Up to 24 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 Apr 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2028, 44 months after the start.

Of 348 non-industry phase 2 interventional studies under Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, half reached primary completion within 47 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 33 and three quarters within 78. This study's planned 44 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 428 studies reached it within 43 months; a quarter within 30 and three quarters within 71.

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

Registered
Jun 5, 2026
First posted
Sep 21, 2026
StartActual
Apr 1, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Dec 30, 2028
CompletionEst.
Dec 30, 2030
Last update
Sep 21, 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 Sep 21, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07832006
Lead sponsor
Shunda Du
Responsible party
Shunda Du (Professor, Peking Union Medical College Hospital) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Sep 21, 2026
Start date
Apr 1, 2025
Primary completion
Dec 30, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 30, 2030 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 21, 2026

Study contacts

Jiayue Li
Contact
pumchkyc@126.com
010-69156874

Oversight

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

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