Pharmacological Manipulation of Intrahepatic Arterial Blood Flow in HCC

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2020-12-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Dr Rajan is investigating a new method to improve local treatment of liver cancer. There is evidence that a drug, norepinephrine (NE), has the ability to shrink down normal liver blood vessels, but leave tumor vessels wide open. In patients with primary liver cancer, NE will be injected directly in the artery that nourishes the liver and the tumor. Real time blood flow will be measured using an advanced CT scanner to demonstrate the NE effect on blood vessels. If Dr Rajan's hypothesis is confirmed, this drug has great potential to benefit patients during local delivery of chemotherapy in the liver artery, diverting it away from normal liver and towards the tumor, resulting in less complications and improved tumor kill.

• Phase: Phase 4
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University Health Network, Toronto
• Treatments: Norepinephrine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Biopsy proven HCC< or confident diagnosis of HCC on multi-phasic CT or MRI

• Selection criteria for chemoembolization must be met, including adequate coagulation profile and serum creatinine, patent portal vein, no severe contrast allergy, cirrhosis Child A or B.

• 5 or less untreated nodular hepatic tumors within the lobe to undergo chemoembolization. Larger nodule must be equal or over 3 cm.

• Patient must be able to provide written, informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Symptoms or history of ischemic cardiac disease or arrhythmia

• Uncontrolled hypertension

• Pregnancy or desire to get pregnant

• Severe COPD, FEVS lower than 30%

• Prior documented hypersensitivity to norepinephrine

• Patients receiving MAO inhibitors, or anti-depressants of the triptyline or imipramine types