Blood Tests to Track Liver Cancer Response to TACE Treatment
Checks whether blood markers predict response to TACE in adults with liver cancer.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- University of Belgrade
- Where
- Belgrade, SerbiaSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Validation of Blood-Based Biomarkers in TACE-Treated Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 60 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Mar 2026
- Expected to end
- 30 Dec 2029
- Type of study
- Observational
- Record updated
- 17 February 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) who are about to have TACE as standard treatment. Blood samples are taken to test biomarkers against scan results.
- Age
- 18 years or older
- Sex
- All sexes can join
- Disease stage
- Hepatocellular carcinoma confirmed by LI-RADS CT/MRI v2018 criteria or by tissue testing. Child-Pugh score 7 or lower. ECOG performance status 0. TACE is the planned standard treatment (BCLC criteria).
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cancer spread outside the liver or invasion of large blood vessels
- Child-Pugh score 8 or higher, or ECOG performance status above 0
- TACE not technically possible, for example the feeding artery cannot be found
- Severe coagulation problem or low blood cell count that cannot be corrected
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 14 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Age ≥ 18 years
- Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on LI-RADS CT/MRI v2018 criteria or histopathological verification
- Candidate for TACE as part of standard treatment (BCLC criteria)
- Child-Pugh score ≤ 7 at the time of TACE indication
- ECOG performance status 0 at the time of TACE indication
- Availability of at least one follow-up multiphase CT or MRI scan 4-8 weeks after TACE
Who cannot take part
- Severe allergy or contraindication to iodine contrast agent or drugs used during TACE
- Child-Pugh score ≥8 at the time of TACE indication
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status > 0 at the time of TACE indication
- Presence of extrahepatic dissemination and/or macrovascular invasion
- Technically unfeasible TACE (e.g., inability to identify feeder artery)
- Severe uncorrectable coagulopathy or cytopenia
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Inability to provide signed informed consent
Where in Serbia
- KBC Bežanijska kosaBelgrade, SerbiaContact: Jovana Popović, Medical DoctorNo longer taking part
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this prospective observational study is to validate the clinical utility of specific blood-based biomarkers for predicting and monitoring treatment response in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE).
Read full original descriptionShow less
The study aims to determine if longitudinal changes in these biomarkers can reliably correlate with early radiological treatment response, as measured by Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST). Participants will receive standard-of-care TACE treatment and will provide blood samples at baseline and during subsequent clinical follow-up cycles. Biomarker levels will be compared against routine multiphase computed tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans performed four to eight weeks post-procedure to establish their accuracy as predictive tools for clinical success.
The group in the trial
- HCC Patients Treated With TACE
Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are candidates for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) as part of their standard clinical care. This group includes adult patients with preserved liver function (Child-Pugh ≤ 7) and good performance status Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0.
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Blood-Based Biomarkers for Prediction and Monitoring of Response to TACE in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
- Plain-language title
- Blood Tests to Track Liver Cancer Response to TACE TreatmentGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 17 February 2026