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Phase 3 Study of ThermoDox With Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) in Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Phase 3
Completed
Conditions
Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Interventions
Drug: ThermoDox
Drug: 5% Dextrose Solution
Registration Number
NCT00617981
Lead Sponsor
Imunon
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether ThermoDox, a thermally sensitive liposomal doxorubicin, is effective in the treatment of non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma when used in conjunction with radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Detailed Description

This will be a Phase III, randomized, double-blinded, dummy-controlled, efficacy, and safety study of ThermoDox plus RFA versus RFA plus dummy infusion.

The 50 mg/m2 ThermoDox or dummy infusion will be administered IV over 30 minutes. As part of blinded pre-medication ThermoDox treated subjects will receive 20 mg of dexamethasone orally 48 hours prior to the drug infusion for infusion reaction prophylaxis. Subjects on the control arm will receive a matching dummy pre-medication pill orally at 48 hours prior to infusion of the study treatment. Thirty minutes prior to receiving the ThermoDox infusion, subjects will receive a blinded dose of 20 mg of IV dexamethasone, 50 mg IV diphenhydramine and either 50 mg of IV ranitidine or 20 mg of IV famotidine. Subjects on the control arm will receive a masked dummy pre-medication pill orally at 48 hours prior to infusion of the study medication, and a dummy infusion 30 minutes prior to dummy infusion of D5W (250 cc of 5% Dextrose solution). RFA will be initiated approximately at a minimum of 15 minutes after the initiation of study drug infusion and should be completed no later than 3 hours after study drug infusion initiation. The total length of the RFA procedure is proportional to the size of the tumor(s) involved and is anticipated to range from 12 to 60 minutes for each lesion with an estimated overall procedure time of less than 3 hours.

Subjects with incomplete ablations will be re-treated to complete the ablation according to the treatment assigned at randomization. The completion of an ablation in this manner will restart the timeline of the study-related visits/procedures. This repeated ablation procedure cannot occur earlier than 21 days post-ablation but no later than 14 days after the first post-ablation CT scan assessment. These subjects will start over at screening (see Table 1). If a complete ablation is not achieved after these two study treatments, the subject will be considered a treatment failure and the patient will be discontinued and followed for survival only.

Subjects who recur with local and/or distant intrahepatic HCC after a complete initial ablation will have met the primary endpoint of progression-free survival. However, if these subjects have lesions that are amenable to RFA the standard of care is to consider them for repeat RFA. Therefore, these subjects may receive treatment to which they were randomized if they continue to meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the protocol. Subjects who develop any extrahepatic lesion will have met the primary endpoint and will be discontinued from study treatment but will still be followed for overall survival.

Dynamic Contrast CT imaging will be used to assess the effectiveness of the ablation therapy. The blind will be maintained at the level of CT scan reads. All protocol-specified CT images will be centrally read and assessed by the endpoint committee in a blinded fashion. Posttreatment CT scans will be obtained at months 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 and every three months thereafter until withdrawal. Adverse event assessments and laboratory examinations will occur at each visit. All subjects will be monitored throughout the investigational period.

Patients that meet inclusion/exclusion criteria may be at risk for contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) when undergoing the required CT with contrast procedures. The investigators must be mindful of the risk factors (e.g. diabetes, borderline renal function) associated with CIN and employ strategies to reduce the risk of CIN. In subjects with diabetes or borderline renal function (creatinine greater than 1.5 mg/dL) special precautions (e.g. hydration, contrast dose reduction, follow up creatinine determination) should be employed. An accepted procedure is adequate intravenous volume expansion with isotonic saline (1.0 - 1.5 mL/kg per hour) for 3-12 hours before the procedure and continued for 6-24 hours.

All randomized subjects will be followed for safety and overall survival.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
701
Inclusion Criteria
  • Diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

  • No more than 4 HCC lesions with at least one ≥ 3.0 cm and none > 7.0 cm in maximum diameter, based on diagnosis at screening.

  • If a subject has a large lesion (5.0 - 7.0 cm), any other lesions must be less than 5.0 cm.

  • Anticipated ablation volume will be no larger than either removal of 3 hepatic segments or removal of more than 30% of total liver volume (as per maximum surgical limit).

  • If additional lesions are discovered during the laparoscopic or open treatment procedure, that were undetectable by CT at screening, the size and location of the lesion(s) will be recorded in the CRF and the lesions will be treated at the discretion of the physician and guided by the local standard of care. The subject will remain on study if all lesions are treated. If any lesions cannot be completely ablated within two treatment attempts the subject will be considered a treatment failure.

  • Study subjects being considered for re-treatment after disease progression may have more than 4 lesions.

  • Male or female 18 years of age or older.

  • Are willing to sign an informed consent form, indicating that they are aware of the investigational nature of this study that is in keeping with the policies of the institution.

  • Be an appropriate candidate for receiving RFA as a medically indicated treatment as evaluated by the following factors:

    • Number of lesions
    • Size of lesions
    • Overall health of liver
    • Not a candidate for surgical resection
  • Have an echocardiogram revealing a Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50%. Measurements with a multiple gated acquisition (MUGA) scan are allowed if an echocardiogram cannot be performed. The same method of measurement should be used to evaluate ejection fraction (EF) of the subject for the duration of the study.

  • Willing to return to the study site for their study visits.

  • Have life expectancy of ≥ 4 months.

  • Have Child-Pugh Class A or B liver disease without encephalopathy or/and ascites.

Read More
Exclusion Criteria
  • Have serious medical illnesses including, but not limited to, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction or cerebral vascular accident within the last six months, or life threatening cardiac arrhythmias.
  • Is scheduled for liver transplantation.
  • Have previously received any treatment for HCC (except for study subjects being considered for completion of treatment or re-treatment).
  • Have previously received any doxorubicin (study subjects being considered for completion of treatment or re-treatment may have received ThermoDox previously).
  • Have extrahepatic metastasis.
  • Are pregnant or breast-feeding. In women of childbearing potential, a negative pregnancy test (serum) is required prior to study treatment.
  • Women of childbearing potential who are not practicing an acceptable form of birth control (i.e. diaphragm, cervical cap, condom, surgical sterility or birth control pills. Women whose partner has undergone a vasectomy must use a second form of birth control).
  • Have any known allergic reactions to any of the drugs or liposomal components or intravenous imaging agents to be used in this study.
  • Have portal or hepatic vein tumor invasion/thrombosis.
  • Have INR > 1.5 times the institution's upper normal limit (UNL), except in subjects who are therapeutically anticoagulated for medical conditions unrelated to HCC such as atrial fibrillation. Subjects may be re-screened after condition is treated or anticoagulant is withheld.
  • Have platelet count < 75,000/mm3, absolute neutrophil count < 1500/mm3, or Hgb < 10.0 g/dL (unless the hemoglobin value has been stable, the subject is cardiovascularly stable, asymptomatic and judged able to withstand the RFA procedure).
  • Have serum creatinine ≥ 2.5 mg/dL or calculated creatinine clearance (CrCl) ≤ 25.0 mL/min.
  • Have serum bilirubin > 3.0 mg/dL.
  • Have serum albumin < 2.8 g/dL.
  • Have body temperature >1010F (38.30C) immediately prior to study treatment.
  • Have contraindications to receiving doxorubicin HCl.
  • Are being treated with other investigational agents.
  • Use of an investigational drug within 30 days or 5 half-lives, whichever is longer, preceding the first dose of study medication (study subjects being considered for completion of treatment or re-treatment may have received ThermoDox previously).
  • Have other concurrent malignancy (subjects with treated squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or basal cell carcinoma of the skin may be included), evidence of extrahepatic cancer from their primary malignancy, or ongoing, medically significant active infection.
  • Documented HIV positive.
  • NYHA class III or IV functional classification for heart failure.
  • Evidence of hemachromatosis.
  • Have history of contrast-induced nephropathy.
Read More

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ThermoDox + RFAThermoDoxThermoDox 50 mg/m2 start infusion over 30 minutes about 15 minutes before radiofrequency ablation begins.
Sham + RFA5% Dextrose SolutionSham infusion over 30 minutes about 15 minutes before radiofrequency ablation begins.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Progression Free Survival Will be Measured From the Date of Randomization to the First Date on Which One of the Following Occurs. o Local Recurrence o Any New Distant Intrahepatic HCC Tumor o Any New Extrahepatic HCC Tumor o Death From Any Cause3 years
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Overall Survival as Measured by Time From Randomization to Death or the End of the Study.3 years
Number of Participants With Local Recurrence3 years

Number of participants with local progression in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population.

Evaluation of Safety3 years
Number of Participants With Definite Worsening as Per Patient-Reported Outcomes3 years

Number of participants with significant symptom deterioration, defined as greater than or equal to 4-point increase from baseline in the eight-item Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary Symptom Index.

Trial Locations

Locations (78)

Siriraj Hospital

🇹🇭

Bangkok, Thailand

Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center

🇨🇳

Guangzhou, China

Mayo Clinic - Jacksonville, Florida

🇺🇸

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

Vancouver General Hospital

🇨🇦

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The 1st Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University

🇨🇳

Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Tongji Hospital

🇨🇳

Wuhan, Hubei, China

Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affilitated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School

🇨🇳

Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

The First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University

🇨🇳

Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

Beijing You An Hospital, Capital Medical University

🇨🇳

Beijing, China

The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University

🇨🇳

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

The First Hospital of Jilin University

🇨🇳

Changchun, Jilin, China

Tianjin Cancer Hospital

🇨🇳

Tianjin, Tianjin, China

Beijing Cancer Hospital, Peking University School of Oncology

🇨🇳

Beijing, China

Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

🇨🇳

Beijing, China

Southwest Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of the Third Military Medical University

🇨🇳

Chongqing, China

Oncology Center of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

🇨🇳

Guangzhou, China

Beijing You An Hospital,Capital Medical University

🇨🇳

Beijing, China

Shanghai Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University

🇨🇳

Shanghai, China

Tianjin No. 3 Central Hospital

🇨🇳

Tianjin, China

Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova

🇮🇹

Padova, Veneto, Italy

Queen Mary Hospital

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico S.Orsola Malpighi

🇮🇹

Bologna, Italy

Ospedale Classificato San Giuseppe, Milano

🇮🇹

Milano, Italy

Azienda Ospedaliera San Gerardo

🇮🇹

Monza, Italy

Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori "Fondazione Pascale" di Napoli

🇮🇹

Napoli, Italy

Istituto dei Tumori Regina Elena

🇮🇹

Roma, Italy

Azienda Ospedaliero-Univeristaria Pisana

🇮🇹

Pisa, Italy

Azienda Sanitaria Ospedaliera Ordine Mauriziano di Torino Presidio Ospedaliero "Umberto I"

🇮🇹

Torino, Italy

Chiba University Hospital

🇯🇵

Chiba, Japan

Yamanashi Prefectural Central Hospital

🇯🇵

Kōfu, Japan

Mie University Hospital

🇯🇵

Mie, Japan

Saiseikai Niigata Daini Hospital

🇯🇵

Niigata City, Japan

Okayama University Hospital

🇯🇵

Okayama City, Japan

Wakayama Medical University

🇯🇵

Wakayama, Japan

Iwate Medical University Hospital

🇯🇵

Shiwa, Japan

Kyoundo Hospital

🇯🇵

Tokyo, Japan

JR Tokyo General Hospital

🇯🇵

Tokyo, Japan

The University of Tokyo Hospital

🇯🇵

Tokyo, Japan

Yokohama City University Medical Center

🇯🇵

Yokohama City, Japan

Samsung Medical Center

🇰🇷

Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Korea, Republic of

Japanese Red Cross Medical Center

🇯🇵

Tokyo, Japan

Kanto Central Hospital

🇯🇵

Tokyo, Japan

Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital

🇰🇷

Gyeonggi-do, Goyang-si, Korea, Republic of

Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital

🇰🇷

Gyeonggi-do, Bucheon-si, Korea, Republic of

Seoul National University Hospital

🇰🇷

Seoul, Jongno-gu, Korea, Republic of

Kyungpook National University Hospital

🇰🇷

Daegu, Jung-gu, Korea, Republic of

Seoul National University Bundang Hospital

🇰🇷

Seongnam-si, Korea, Republic of

Pusan National University Hospital

🇰🇷

Busan, Korea, Republic of

Yonsei University Severance Hospital

🇰🇷

Seoul, Korea, Republic of

The Catholic University of Korea, Kangnam St.Mary's Hospital

🇰🇷

Seoul, Seocho-gu, Korea, Republic of

Korea University Medical Center Anam Hospital

🇰🇷

Seoul, Korea, Republic of

Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center

🇵🇭

Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippines

University Malaya Medical Centre

🇲🇾

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Kao Shiung

🇨🇳

Niaosong, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan

The Medical City

🇵🇭

Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines

St. Luke's Medical Center

🇵🇭

Quezon City, Philippines

Cardinal Santos Medical Center

🇵🇭

San Juan City, Philippines

Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital - Chiayi Branch

🇨🇳

Chiayi City, Taiwan

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Linkou

🇨🇳

Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital - Keelung

🇨🇳

Keelung, Taiwan

China Medical University Hospital

🇨🇳

Taichung, Taiwan

Taichung Veterans General Hospital

🇨🇳

Taichung, Taiwan

Taipei Veterans General Hospital

🇨🇳

Taipei, Taiwan

National Taiwan University Hospital

🇨🇳

Taipei, Taiwan

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

🇹🇭

Bangkok, Thailand

Tri-Service General Hospital

🇨🇳

Taipei, Taiwan

Songklanagarind Hospital

🇹🇭

Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand

Thammasat University Hospital

🇹🇭

Pathumthani, Thailand

Asan Medical Center

🇰🇷

Seoul, Korea, Republic of

University Of Louisville

🇺🇸

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Mayo Clinic

🇺🇸

Rochester, Minnesota, United States

Cleveland Clinic

🇺🇸

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Temple University Hospital

🇺🇸

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Geisinger Health System

🇺🇸

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States

University of Texas Health Science Center

🇺🇸

San Antonio, Texas, United States

Toronto General Hospital

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

UCLA

🇺🇸

Los Angeles, California, United States

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