Liver cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages, when surgery isn't possible. Current treatments include targeted drugs like sorafenib and lenvatinib, immunotherapy combinations, and liver-directed procedures that attack tumors with radiation beads or heat. Outcomes have improved, but many people still need new options.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing combinations of immunotherapy drugs, newer targeted therapies that block cancer growth signals, and treatments delivered directly to tumors through the liver's blood vessels. Researchers are also studying treatments for earlier-stage disease to prevent recurrence after surgery, and therapies tailored to specific genetic changes found in liver tumors.
Immunotherapy combinations
Drugs that wake up the immune system are now being combined in different ways to see which pairs work best. Some trials add targeted drugs to immunotherapy, aiming to make tumors more visible to immune cells.
Post-surgery treatments
People who have tumors removed face high recurrence rates. Trials are testing immunotherapy and targeted drugs given after surgery to reduce that risk.
Precision approaches
Some liver cancers have specific genetic changes that drugs can target. Trials are testing drugs matched to these mutations, especially in people whose cancers don't respond to standard treatments.
What to know before you search
Eligibility often depends on tumor size and spread, liver function scores, prior treatments, and sometimes whether hepatitis B or C is present.
What types of trials are currently open
- Drug combination trials — Testing new combinations of immunotherapy, targeted drugs, and sometimes chemotherapy to see which work better than current standard treatments.
- Liver-directed therapy trials — Testing procedures that deliver radiation beads, heat, or chemotherapy directly into liver tumors through blood vessels.
- Post-surgery trials — Testing drugs given after tumor removal to prevent cancer from coming back.
- Biomarker trials — Testing treatments matched to specific genetic changes or protein markers found in a person's tumor.
- Registry studies — Tracking people with liver cancer over time to understand which treatments work best in real-world settings and what factors predict outcomes.
Recently added Liver Cancer trials
Share your medical records and imaging after liver vein treatment
The DRAGON registry aims to collect data on combined portal and hepatic vein embolization (PVE/HVE) for liver tumors, a technique expected to enhance liver regeneration compared to standard PVE. This collaborative registry focuses on identifying associations between baseline clinical/imaging parameters, clinical outcomes, and safety for patients undergoing PVE/HVE.
Share your medical records and donate tissue samples for liver cancer research
This is a Retrospective and Prospective Observational Single-Center Study. The purpose is to collect all data to generate a registry of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma and biliary tract carcinoma) of patients accessing to San Raffaele Hospital. An additional purpose is to identify novel biomarkers to better manage primary liver cancer patients, for whom additional biological samples will be collected. A total of 4000 patients will be enrolled; for the prospective cohort: from protocol approval to the achievement of the last planned patients in the prospective cohort (2000 patients). The retrospective cohort will start from the year 2000. Patients will be followed for 5 years of follow-up.
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