Implementation of Biomimetic 3D Bioprinting Technology in Selecting Optimal Regimens as Adjuvant Therapy to Prevent Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence After Liver Resection or Ablation: a Feasibility Study

This study is a feasibility study about a test on adjuvant therapy for patients in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a higher risk of tumour recurrence after liver resection or ablation. By collecting individual patient's liver and tumour tissue during surgical operation, 3D bioprinting technology will be adopted to construct patient-specific biomimetic liver models -'Liver-in-Cube', to test and identify the most effective adjuvant therapy for individual patients, thereby personalising treatment and improving treatment outcomes, and hence reducing the recurrence rate of HCC.

This is a phase II, non-randomised, open-label, single-centre, prospective feasibility study designed to evaluate the use of biomimetic 3D bioprinting technology in guiding the selection of adjuvant treatment regimens to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after curative liver resection. The study will be conducted at Queen Mary Hospital as a 5 years project.

A total of 20 HCC patients who are going to receive liver resection or ablation with a higher risk of tumour recurrence will be recruited. Patients will be identified from clinic and asked if willing to participate in the study. Consent will be signed before operation. Biological samples such as tissue and blood samples will be collected during operation for Liver-in-Cube construction. Patients will receive standard post operative care upon discharge, follow-up in clinic regularly as usual, and be referred to collaborated oncologists for adjuvant therapy. A 1-month post operative scan will also be arranged as standard procedure to confirm the post operative disease status. Result from Liver-in-Cube will be treated as an additional information about adjuvant therapy in preventing HCC recurrence. Patients will discuss with oncologists and decide if to adopt adjuvant therapy or not for HCC recurrence prevention. During the follow-up period, blood samples will also be collected for laboratory analysis outside the routine blood assessment.