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On-treatment Surveillance of Tumor Evolution and Response to Systemic Treatment in Bile Duct and Liver Cancer

BILe Duct and LIver Cancer: ON-treatment Surveillance of Tumor Evolution And Response to Systemic Treatment

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06877637
Acronym
BILLIONSTARS
Enrollment
150
Registered
2025-03-14
Start date
2025-05-15
Completion date
2029-12-31
Last updated
2026-08-03

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

Conditions

Cholangiocarcinoma, Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Keywords

cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, bile duct cancer, liver cell cancer, circulating tumor DNA, targeted therapy, tumor heterogeneity, tumor evolution

Brief summary

The BILLIONSTARS study is a prospective, single arm observational study inviting patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) who are to be recommended locoregional intervention by surgery, ablation or transarterial chemoembolization and/or antitumoral medical treatment. The aim is to investigate how tumor- and individual-related factors affect response to treatment. To this end, circulating tumor DNA, immune cells and various proteins will be analyzed in repeated blood samples taken before, during and after completion of systemic treatment. When applicable, analyses will also be performed on tumor tissue from resected tumors and biopsies, and in some cases also from autopsies

Detailed description

The BILLIONSTARS study is a prospective, single arm observational study. Patients at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö/Lund and Central Hospital in Kristianstad diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) who are to be recommended locoregional intervention by surgery, ablation or transarterial chemoembolization and/or antitumoral medical treatment will be included. A total enrolment of 150 patients is planned. Before start of treatment, the patients will receive information about the study by a physician and give their written informed consent. Tumor tissue will be obtained from surgical specimens, predominantly from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue, but in some cases, fresh tissue will be obtained at surgery for cryopreservation to enable future preclinical studies. All blood samples will be taken by a dedicated research nurse in conjunction with the treatment visits. Plasma, serum and buffy coat will be isolated from blood samples, following standard fractionation, to enable analyses of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and other biomarkers. Participants will be asked to fill in quality of life questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC-QLQ-HCC18/BIL21) at study start, and after three and six months, respectively. Treatment regimen will follow national guidelines and will not be affected by participation in the study. Radiological and clinical follow ups will be conducted according to clinical protocols or when deemed necessary by the clinician. Primary endpoint is OS, secondary endpoints are progression free survival and change in quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30+EORTC-QLQ-HCC18/BIL21). The study will also include research autopsies. Patients are informed and provide their consent for inclusion in this part of the study when they are in a late palliative phase.

Interventions

None listed

Sponsors

Region Skane
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* \> 18 years of age * Clinically diagnosed intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (iCCC), perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma (pCCC), distal Cholangiocarcinoma (dCCC), gall bladder carcinoma (GBC) or mixed Hepatocellular carcinoma/Cholangiocarcinoma planned to undergo surgery * Histologically or cytologically confirmed Cholangiocarcinoma (iCCC, pCCC, dCCC, GBC, mixed HCC/CCC) for patients planned to receive palliative systemic treatment or * Clinically diagnosed Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) planned for surgery, ablation or transarterial chemo-embolization. For patients planned to receive systemic treatment histological or cytological confirmation is required except for patients with LI-RADS 5 lesions.

Exclusion criteria

* \< 18 years of age * Severe comorbidities * Inability to comprehend study information

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Overall survivalFrom date of inclusion until the date of death from any cause, assessed up to 60 months"

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Progression free survivalFrom date of inclusion until the date of first documented progression or death from any cause, whichever comes first, assessed up to 60 months.
Impact on quality of lifeTo be filled out at baseline, at three and at six months.Change in quality of life as measured by the form "European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Cancer 30 (QLQ-C30). For questions 1-28 the minimum value is 28 and the maximum value is 112, where a higher value indicates worse symptom impact. For questions 29-30 the minimum value is 2 and the maximum value is 14 where a higher value indicates better health status and quality of life.
Impact on quality of life HCC-specificTo be filled out at baseline, at three and at six months.Change in quality of life as measured by the form "European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Hepatocellular Carcinoma 18 (QLQ-HCC18). For the18 questions the minimum value is 18 and the maximum value is 72, where a higher value indicates worse symptom impact.
Impact on quality of life BTC-specificTo be filled out at baseline, at three and at six months.Change in quality of life as measured by the form "European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Biliary Tract Cancer 18 (QLQ-BIL21). For the 21 questions the minimum value is 21 and the maximum value is 84, where a higher value indicates worse symptom impact.

Countries

Sweden

Contacts

CONTACTKarin Jirström, PhD, MD, professor
karin.jirstrom@med.lu.se+46462220829
CONTACTPhilip Falk, MD
philip.falk@med.lu.se+46709221850
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORKarin Jirström, PhD, MD, professor

Region Skane

Outcome results

None listed

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