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Safety and Efficacy of Everolimus Treatment in Liver Transplantation for Liver Cancer

A 36 Month Multi-center, Open Label, Randomized, Comparator Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Everolimus Immunosuppression Treatment in Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Exceeding Milan Criteria

Status
Enrolling by invitation
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02081755
Enrollment
336
Registered
2014-03-07
Start date
2014-03-01
Completion date
2027-03-01
Last updated
2026-01-27

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

Conditions

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

Keywords

Immunosuppressive Agents, Liver Transplantation

Brief summary

This study is a prospective Phase IV study to determine if the use of Everolimus results in lower liver tumor recurrence and improved patient and graft survival after liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The immunosuppressive comparators will be Everolimus and Tacrolimus therapy compared to Tacrolimus and Mycophenolic acid/Mycophenolate Mofetil/Azathioprine. Primary outcomes data is disease free survival (the time from randomization to HCC recurrence or death). Secondary outcomes are rate of recurrence of Hepatitis C, problems related to wound healing, hernia repair within the first 12 months, hepatic arterial thrombosis, renal function, acute cellular rejection, post-transplant diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.

Detailed description

The study population will consist of approximately 336 patients (224 Everolimus and Tacrolimus and 112 Tacrolimus and Mycophenolic acid/Mycophenolate Mofetil/Azathioprine). Initial screening criteria will include the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients 18 years or older who are candidates to receive a primary orthotopic liver transplant (from deceased or living donor). Within 7 - 12 days post-transplant, patients will be re-evaluated for eligibility for randomization. The criteria include: pre-transplant imaging that shows HCC disease exceeding Milan criteria; pathology review for tumor burden and/or presence of microvascular invasion; AFP \>200IU/mL; pre-transplant ablation or resection with HCC recurrence; progression or new tumors; evaluation to rule out any hepatic vessel complication. Subjects will remain in study treatment until Month 12 at which time the subject and investigator will determine the preferred immunosuppressive regimen. Subjects will be followed for an additional 24 months for outcome data as described above.

Interventions

DRUGEverolimus

Everolimus Dosing: 1.5 mg BID (3.0 mg/day) for 12 months

DRUGTacrolimus

Tacrolimus Dosing: 0.05 mg/kg BID for 12 months

Myfortic®: 360 mg to 1080 mg BID for 12 months

CellCept: 500 mg to 1500 mg BID for 12 months

DRUGImuran

0.5 mg/kg to 2 mg/kg QD for 12 months

Sponsors

Baylor Research Institute
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

Screening Inclusion Criteria: * Have a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and high risk for HCC recurrence * Able to provide written informed consent * Male and female patients of any race, 18 years or older * De novo recipients of a primary orthotopic liver transplant from a deceased or living donor * Patients willing to comply with study requirements * Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) must agree to use an effective method(s) of contraception during treatment and during the post treatment follow-up period Screening

Exclusion criteria

* Past or present malignancy within the last 5 years. * Severe infection considered by the local site investigator to be unsafe for study participation. * Use of other investigational drugs at the time of screening or within the last 30 days. * Patients scheduled for a combined transplant (such as liver-kidney), or having a previous solid organ, bone marrow, or autologous islet cell transplant. * Recipients of donor/recipient ABO incompatible grafts. * Recipients of organs from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or HBsAg positive donors. * Macrovascular tumor invasion. * Proteinuria greater than 2 grams/24 hours. * Conditions which can result in impaired absorption, distribution, metabolism or excretion of the study treatment. * Patients with non-infectious pneumonitis. * Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women, where pregnancy is defined as the state of a female after conception and until the termination of gestation, confirmed by a positive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) laboratory test. * Women of child-bearing potential (WOCBP) not practicing an effective method(s) of contraception. * Patients who receive sirolimus (Rapamune®) as part of their transplant immunosuppression regimen Randomization Screening Inclusion Criteria : \- For patients with a history of any hepatic vessel thrombosis, occlusion, stent placement, or major revision of liver vessels, must have a Doppler ultrasound prior to randomization to rule out any hepatic vessel complication, including hepatic arterial thrombosis (HAT). Randomization

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Disease free survival (DFS) defined as the time from randomization to the time of tumor recurrence or death, whichever occurs first.Through Month 36

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
HypertensionThrough Month 36
HyperlipidemiaThrough Month 36
Wound healing and associated risk factorsThrough Month 36
Hernia repairThrough Month 36
Hepatic arterial thrombosisThrough Month 36
Tumor recurrence sitesThrough Month 36
Hepatitis C recurrence rateThrough Month 36
Renal functionThrough Month 36
Post-transplant diabetesThrough Month 36
Acute cellular rejectionThrough Month 36

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORGoran Klintmalm, MD, PhD

Baylor Health Care System

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026