Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the commonest cancers worldwide and ranks the third on the incidence of cancer-related death. There are more than 500000 new cases diagnosed annually worldwide. The incidence and prevalence of HCC are on rising trend with the majority of the disease burden is in Asia where viral hepatitis B is endemic. Surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and liver transplantation (LT) represent the only chance of cure for HCC patients. Despite more aggressive surgical approach has been adopted in most Asian countries, yet curative intervention remains only amendable in 30% of patients. Most patients are diagnosed with intermediate or advanced stage diseases; the long-term cure rate is only 0-10%. Hence, every effort has been made in an attempt to convert inoperable HCC into operable disease (i.e. downstaging) in order to improve the chance of survival of these patients. The current study, to our knowledge, will be the first study in the field to deploy a novel treatment strategy to deploy both immunotherapy and stereotactic beamed radiotherapy to induce tumor shrinkage rendering it become operable cancer.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
30
Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy is a type of external radiation therapy that uses special equipment to position the patient and precisely deliver radiation to a tumor. Drugs for immunotherapy will be suggested and decided by doctors from Department of Clinical Oncology. The therapy will last for 2 years unless it is no longer helping the disease, or unacceptable toxicity, or until the disease is amendable to surgery.
Queen Mary Hospital
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
RECRUITINGrate of successive tumour downstaging
show how many patients will be downstaged by receiving surgery
Time frame: at the time point of receiving surgery
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