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Chemoembolization of the Liver With or Without Sunitinib Malate in Treating Patients With Liver Cancer

A Double-Blind, Randomized, Phase II/III Study Comparing the Use of Chemoembolization Combined With Sunitinib Against Chemoembolization Combined With a Placebo in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma (SATURNE)

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01164202
Acronym
SATURNE
Enrollment
78
Registered
2010-07-16
Start date
2010-07-31
Completion date
2017-07-31
Last updated
2022-03-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Liver Cancer

Keywords

adult primary hepatocellular carcinoma, localized unresectable adult primary liver cancer, advanced adult primary liver cancer

Brief summary

RATIONALE: Chemoembolization kills tumor cells by blocking the blood flow to the tumor and keeping anticancer drugs near the tumor. Sunitinib malate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known whether chemoembolization is more effective with or without sunitinib malate in treating patients with liver cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II/III trial is studying the side effects of chemoembolization of the liver and to see how well in works when given together with or without sunitinib malate in treating patients with liver cancer.

Detailed description

OBJECTIVES: Primary * To evaluate unacceptable bleeding or hepatic failure at 10 weeks post-treatment in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial chemoembolization in combination with sunitinib malate versus transarterial chemoembolization alone. * To evaluate the overall survival of these patients. Secondary * To evaluate the tumor stabilization rate in these patients. * To evaluate the safety of this regimen in these patients. * To evaluate the disease-free survival of these patients. * To evaluate the relapse-free survival of these patients. * To evaluate the quality of life of these patients. * To evaluate the overall survival rate at 2 years of these patients. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Pilot: Patients receive oral sunitinib malate once daily on days 1-28. Beginning 7-10 days later, patients undergo 1-3 courses of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Treatment repeats every 6 weeks for 1 year. Randomization: Patients are stratified according to main tumor diameter (\< 5 cm vs ≥ 5 cm), nodular involvement (uninodular vs multinodular), and center. Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I: Patients receive sunitinib malate and TACE as in the pilot phase. * Arm II: Patients receive oral placebo once daily on days 1-28 and TACE as in the pilot phase. Quality of life is assessed periodically.

Interventions

DRUGsunitinib malate

placebo 3cps/days 4 weeks over 6 during 1 year

DRUGPlacebo

placebo 3cps/days 4 weeks over 6 during 1 year

PROCEDUREtransarterial chemoembolization

Chimioembolisation

Sponsors

Federation Francophone de Cancerologie Digestive
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 120 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma or liver tumor responding to the Barcelona criteria * Child-Pugh score of 5-6 (Class A) * Tumor suitable for transarterial chemoembolization (one or more planned courses allowed) * Tumor not suitable for surgical resection * No extrahepatic metastases, including cerebral metastases PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * ECOG performance status 0-2 * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 x 10\^9/L * Platelet count ≥ 100 x 10\^9/L * Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL * PT ≥ 50% * Creatinine ≤ 120 μmol/L * Bilirubin normal * ALT/AST ≤ 3.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * Alkaline phosphatases ≤ 4 times ULN * Fibrinogen ≥ 1.5 g/L * Not pregnant or nursing * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No portal vein thrombosis * Able to comply with scheduled follow-up and management of toxicity * No uncontrolled hypertension or requiring ≥ 2 classes of antihypertensive drugs * No concomitant disease or uncontrolled severe disease * No contraindications to the vascular occlusion procedure * No prior or concurrent malignancy within the past 5 years, except adequately treated cone-biopsied carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal cell carcinoma of the skin * No psychiatric disability or social, family, or geographic reason for which the patient may not be followed regularly PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * At least 7 days since prior CYP3A4 inhibitors or inducers * At least 3 months since prior radiofrequency ablation * No prior chemotherapy * No prior sunitinib, sorafenib, or any other inhibitors of angiogenesis * No concurrent participation in another trial

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Percentage of Patients With Occurrence of Severe Bleeding and/or Liver FailureUp to 7 days following each TACE, up to 5 months of treatmentThe number of patients with at least one bleed and/or liver failure by treatment group

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall SurvivalFrom randomization until death or last news for alive patients, up to 3 yearsOverall survival is defined as the time from the date of randomization to the date of death (from any cause). Patients lost to follow-up or alive at the time of analysis are censored at the last news date or the point date. This time is used to calculate the median follow-up time.
Disease-free SurvivalFrom randomization until the date of first progression (clinical or radiological) or death from any cause whichever came firstDisease-free survival is defined as the time interval between randomization and local or distant relapse or second cancer or death (all causes). Alive patients are censored at the last follow-up.

Countries

France

Participant flow

Recruitment details

78 patients were included by 17 centers

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Placebo
placebo 3cps/days 4 weeks over 6 during 1 year Placebo: placebo 3cps/days 4 weeks over 6 during 1 year transarterial chemoembolization: Chemoembolisation
39
Sunitinib
sunitinib (SUTENT®) 37.5 mg/d (3 cps of 12.5 mg) orally 4 weeks over 6 (4 weeks of treatment followed by 2 weeks without treatment) during 1 year sunitinib malate: placebo 3cps/days 4 weeks over 6 during 1 year transarterial chemoembolization: Chemoembolisation
39
Total78

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicSunitinibTotalPlacebo
Age, Continuous65.97 years66.44 years67.4 years
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected0 Participants
Region of Enrollment
France
39 participants78 participants39 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
3 Participants7 Participants4 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
36 Participants71 Participants35 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
32 / 3930 / 38
other
Total, other adverse events
27 / 3936 / 38
serious
Total, serious adverse events
14 / 3913 / 38

Outcome results

Primary

Percentage of Patients With Occurrence of Severe Bleeding and/or Liver Failure

The number of patients with at least one bleed and/or liver failure by treatment group

Time frame: Up to 7 days following each TACE, up to 5 months of treatment

Population: Intent to treat modified population

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
PlaceboPercentage of Patients With Occurrence of Severe Bleeding and/or Liver Failure5.88 percentage of participants
SunitinibPercentage of Patients With Occurrence of Severe Bleeding and/or Liver Failure2.78 percentage of participants
Secondary

Disease-free Survival

Disease-free survival is defined as the time interval between randomization and local or distant relapse or second cancer or death (all causes). Alive patients are censored at the last follow-up.

Time frame: From randomization until the date of first progression (clinical or radiological) or death from any cause whichever came first

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
PlaceboDisease-free Survival5.5 Months
SunitinibDisease-free Survival9 Months
Secondary

Overall Survival

Overall survival is defined as the time from the date of randomization to the date of death (from any cause). Patients lost to follow-up or alive at the time of analysis are censored at the last news date or the point date. This time is used to calculate the median follow-up time.

Time frame: From randomization until death or last news for alive patients, up to 3 years

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
PlaceboOverall Survival20.5 Months
SunitinibOverall Survival25 Months

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 27, 2026