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Hepatocellular CarcinomaPhase 2/3NCT04521153

Camrelizumab Combined With Apatinib Mesylate for Perioperative Treatment of Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

A Phase 2/3 study testing Camrelizumab, Apatinib Mesylate and Radical surgery in people with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Immunotherapy, run by Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital at 1 site in China.

Active, not recruiting

Under way, not looking for participants. Everyone needed has enrolled. The study is still running.

Official record
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Trial summary

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. Hepatectomy is a curable and effective method. However, the recurrence rate is as high as 50%~70% in 5 years after surgery. Perioperative treatment with immunotherapy combined with target therapy is expected to improve the patient's prognosis. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 75 years
What is being tested?
Camrelizumab, Apatinib Mesylate and Radical surgery
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
294 participants
Where
1 siteChina
Study dates
25 Mar 2021to 1 Mar 2026
Phase
Phase 2/3
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 75 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Volunteer to participate in this study and sign an informed consent form
  • Age 18~75 years old, no gender limit
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma confirmed by histopathology, cytology or imaging
  • CNLC stage Ib/IIa/IIb/IIIa hepatocellular carcinoma, except for CNLC IIIa hepatocellular carcinoma combined with main portal vein tumor thrombus
  • Child-Pugh score: A grade (≤6 points)
  • ECOG PS score: 0-1 points

Who cannot join

  • Known intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, sarcomatoid HCC, mixed cell carcinoma and fibrolamellar cell carcinoma; have other active malignancies other than HCC within 5 years or at the same time.
  • Currently accompanied by interstitial pneumonia or interstitial lung disease
  • Existence of active autoimmune disease or history of autoimmune disease and may relapse
  • Patients with active infection, unexplained fever ≥38.5℃ within 1 week before randomization, or baseline white blood cell count >15*10^9/L
  • Patients with congenital or acquired immune deficiencies (such as HIV-infected persons)
  • Those who are known to be allergic to any monoclonal antibodies, anti-angiogenesis targeted drugs or excipients

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

China1 site

  • 180 Fenglin Road

    Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200032

Other trials in China

About this study

Official title: Camrelizumab Combined With Apatinib Mesylate for Perioperative Treatment of Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma：a Randomized, Open-label, Parallel, Multicenter Trial

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. Hepatectomy is a curable and effective method. However, the recurrence rate is as high as 50%~70% in 5 years after surgery. Perioperative treatment with immunotherapy combined with target therapy is expected to improve the patient's prognosis. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate in the perioperative period of resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the rate of subjects with major pathological response for phase 2 study and event-free survival (EFS) by investigator for phase 3 study of camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate in the perioperative period of hepatocellular carcinoma (CNLC Ib-IIIa). The secondary research purpose is to evaluate EFS by Blinded Independent Review Committee, the R0 resection rate, the rate of subjects with major pathological response, the rate of subjects with pathological complete response, overall survival and disease-free survival of camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate in the perioperative period of resectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The safety and tolerability is also evaluated.

Read the detailed description

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. Hepatectomy is a curable and effective method. However, the recurrence rate is as high as 50%~70% in 5 years after surgery. Perioperative treatment with immunotherapy combined with target therapy is expected to improve the patient's prognosis. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate in the perioperative period of resectable hepatocellular carcinoma. This trial includes subjects with CNLC Ib/IIa/IIb/IIIa HCC. All eligible subjects will be randomized (1:1) to experimental group or control group. In the experimental group, patients will be treated with following: neoadjuvant therapy (camrelizumab and apatinib, 2 cycles), radical surgery, adjuvant therapy (camrelizumab and apatinib, 6 cycles); in the control group, patients will be treated with following: radical surgery. One cycle of postoperative TACE treatment is allowed in both experimental and control group. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the rate of subjects with major pathological response for phase 2 study and event-free survival (EFS) by investigator for phase 3 study of camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate in the perioperative period of HCC. The secondary research purpose is to evaluate the EFS by Blinded Independent Review Committee, the R0 resection rate, the rate of subjects with major pathological response, the rate of subjects with pathological complete response, overall survival and disease-free survival of camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate in the perioperative period of resectable HCC. The safety and tolerability is also evaluated.

Being tested
Camrelizumab, Apatinib Mesylate, Radical surgery
Keywords
Camrelizumab; apatinib mesylate; hepatocellular carcinoma
Medical subject headings
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • CamrelizumabDrug

    Camrelizumab is administered at 200mg, q2w (2cycles) before radical surgery and 200mg, q3w (at least 6 cycles) after radical surgery

  • Apatinib MesylateDrug

    Apatinib Mesylate is administered at 250mg, qd (2 cycles) before radical surgery and 250mg, qd (at least 6 cycles) after radical surgery

  • Radical surgeryProcedure or surgery

    Radical surgery

Study groups in NCT04521153
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Experimental groupExperimentalPreoperative camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate (q2w, 2 cycles) → radical surgery →sequential camrelizumab and apatinib mesylate (q3w, at least 6 cycles). One cycle of postoperative TACE treatment 4-6 weeks after surgery is allowed. (Note: Surgery within 2-4 weeks after the last administration of neoadjuvant therapy, postoperative TACE treatment at least 4 weeks after surgery, and camrelizumab combined with apatinib mesylate 4 weeks after surgery or 2-4 weeks after post-operative TACE)
Receives: Drug: Camrelizumab; Drug: Apatinib Mesylate; Procedure: Radical surgery
Control groupActive comparatorRadical surgery, one cycle of postoperative TACE treatment 4-6 weeks after surgery is allowed. (Note: Postoperative TACE treatment at least 4 weeks after surgery)
Receives: Procedure: Radical surgery

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Event-free survival (EFS) assessed by investigator

    The primary endpoint of phase 3 study is EFS assessed by investigator, which is defined as time from randomization to any of the following events: progression of disease that precludes surgery, local or distant recurrence, or death due to any cause.

    Measured: up to 3 years

  2. The rate of subjects of major pathological response (MPR)

    The primary endpoint of phase 2 study is the rate of subjects of MPR in the first 60 patients in the experimental group. MPR is defined as less than or equal to 50% residual tumor after neoadjuvant therapy of camrelizumab and apatinib therapy.

    Measured: From enrollment to 30 days post-surgery

Secondary outcomes (7)

  1. Overall survival (OS)

    OS is defined as the time from randomisation to death.

    Measured: up to 5 years

  2. EFS assessed by Blinded Independent Review Committee (BIRC)

    The primary endpoint of phase 3 study is EFS assessed by BIRC, which was retrospectively reviewed by two independent radiologists. EFS is defined as time from randomization to any of the following events: progression of disease that precludes surgery, local or distant recurrence, or death due to any cause.

    Measured: up to 3 years

  3. Disease-free survival (DFS) assessed by investigator

    DFS is defined as the time from randomization until disease recurrence or death from any cause.

    Measured: up to 3 years

  4. R0 resection rate

    R0 resection rate

    Measured: From enrollment to 30 days post-surgery

  5. The rate of subjects of major pathological response (MPR)

    The rate of subjects of MPR in all enrolled patients. MPR is defined as less than or equal to 50% residual tumor after neoadjuvant therapy of camrelizumab and apatinib therapy.

    Measured: From enrollment to 30 days post-surgery

  6. The rate of subjects of pathologic complete response (pCR)

    The rate of subjects of pCR

    Measured: From enrollment to 30 days post-surgery

  7. Safety and tolerability

    The incidence of adverse events, severe adverse events; surgery related safety.

    Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 90 days

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted20 Aug 2020
  2. Study start25 Mar 2021
  3. Primary completion31 Jul 2025 (estimated)
  4. Study completion1 Mar 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2/3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
294 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04521153
Sponsor's protocol ID
ZS-ZJ-SK-2020
Status last verified
May 2025
First submitted
18 Aug 2020
Last updated
11 May 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Ferlay J, Colombet M, Soerjomataram I, Mathers C, Parkin DM, Pineros M, Znaor A, Bray F. Estimating the global cancer incidence and mortality in 2018: GLOBOCAN sources and methods. Int J Cancer. 2019 Apr 15;144(8):1941-1953. doi: 10.1002/ijc.31937. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

    PubMed 30350310

  • Zhou M, Wang H, Zeng X, Yin P, Zhu J, Chen W, Li X, Wang L, Wang L, Liu Y, Liu J, Zhang M, Qi J, Yu S, Afshin A, Gakidou E, Glenn S, Krish VS, Miller-Petrie MK, Mountjoy-Venning WC, Mullany EC, Redford SB, Liu H, Naghavi M, Hay SI, Wang L, Murray CJL, Liang X. Mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2019 Sep 28;394(10204):1145-1158. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30427-1. Epub 2019 Jun 24.

    PubMed 31248666

  • Allemani C, Weir HK, Carreira H, Harewood R, Spika D, Wang XS, Bannon F, Ahn JV, Johnson CJ, Bonaventure A, Marcos-Gragera R, Stiller C, Azevedo e Silva G, Chen WQ, Ogunbiyi OJ, Rachet B, Soeberg MJ, You H, Matsuda T, Bielska-Lasota M, Storm H, Tucker TC, Coleman MP; CONCORD Working Group. Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2). Lancet. 2015 Mar 14;385(9972):977-1010. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62038-9. Epub 2014 Nov 26.

    PubMed 25467588

  • Torre LA, Bray F, Siegel RL, Ferlay J, Lortet-Tieulent J, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin. 2015 Mar;65(2):87-108. doi: 10.3322/caac.21262. Epub 2015 Feb 4.

    PubMed 25651787

  • Chen W, Zheng R, Baade PD, Zhang S, Zeng H, Bray F, Jemal A, Yu XQ, He J. Cancer statistics in China, 2015. CA Cancer J Clin. 2016 Mar-Apr;66(2):115-32. doi: 10.3322/caac.21338. Epub 2016 Jan 25.

    PubMed 26808342

  • Akateh C, Black SM, Conteh L, Miller ED, Noonan A, Elliott E, Pawlik TM, Tsung A, Cloyd JM. Neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol. 2019 Jul 28;25(28):3704-3721. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i28.3704.

    PubMed 31391767

  • Takayama T, Sekine T, Makuuchi M, Yamasaki S, Kosuge T, Yamamoto J, Shimada K, Sakamoto M, Hirohashi S, Ohashi Y, Kakizoe T. Adoptive immunotherapy to lower postsurgical recurrence rates of hepatocellular carcinoma: a randomised trial. Lancet. 2000 Sep 2;356(9232):802-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02654-4.

    PubMed 11022927

  • Lee JH, Lee JH, Lim YS, Yeon JE, Song TJ, Yu SJ, Gwak GY, Kim KM, Kim YJ, Lee JW, Yoon JH. Adjuvant immunotherapy with autologous cytokine-induced killer cells for hepatocellular carcinoma. Gastroenterology. 2015 Jun;148(7):1383-91.e6. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2015.02.055. Epub 2015 Mar 4.

    PubMed 25747273

  • Peng BG, Liang LJ, He Q, Kuang M, Lia JM, Lu MD, Huang JF. Tumor vaccine against recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol. 2005 Feb 7;11(5):700-4. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i5.700.

    PubMed 15655825

  • Kuang M, Peng BG, Lu MD, Liang LJ, Huang JF, He Q, Hua YP, Totsuka S, Liu SQ, Leong KW, Ohno T. Phase II randomized trial of autologous formalin-fixed tumor vaccine for postsurgical recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Mar 1;10(5):1574-9. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-03-0071.

    PubMed 15014006

  • Bruix J, Takayama T, Mazzaferro V, Chau GY, Yang J, Kudo M, Cai J, Poon RT, Han KH, Tak WY, Lee HC, Song T, Roayaie S, Bolondi L, Lee KS, Makuuchi M, Souza F, Berre MA, Meinhardt G, Llovet JM; STORM investigators. Adjuvant sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma after resection or ablation (STORM): a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2015 Oct;16(13):1344-54. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00198-9. Epub 2015 Sep 8.

    PubMed 26361969

  • Wang SN, Chuang SC, Lee KT. Efficacy of sorafenib as adjuvant therapy to prevent early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative surgery: A pilot study. Hepatol Res. 2014 May;44(5):523-31. doi: 10.1111/hepr.12159. Epub 2013 Jun 13.

    PubMed 23672310

  • Zhang XP, Chai ZT, Gao YZ, Chen ZH, Wang K, Shi J, Guo WX, Zhou TF, Ding J, Cong WM, Xie D, Lau WY, Cheng SQ. Postoperative adjuvant sorafenib improves survival outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with microvascular invasion after R0 liver resection: a propensity score matching analysis. HPB (Oxford). 2019 Dec;21(12):1687-1696. doi: 10.1016/j.hpb.2019.04.014. Epub 2019 May 29.

    PubMed 31153833

  • Wang D, Jia W, Wang Z, Wen T, Ding W, Xia F, Zhang L, Wu F, Peng T, Liu B, Zhou C, Zheng Q, Miao X, Peng J, Huang Z, Dou K. Retrospective analysis of sorafenib efficacy and safety in Chinese patients with high recurrence rate of post-hepatic carcinectomy. Onco Targets Ther. 2019 Jul 17;12:5779-5791. doi: 10.2147/OTT.S168447. eCollection 2019.

    PubMed 31410023

  • Chen Q, Shu C, Laurence AD, Chen Y, Peng BG, Zhen ZJ, Cai JQ, Ding YT, Li LQ, Zhang YB, Zheng QC, Xu GL, Li B, Zhou WP, Cai SW, Wang XY, Wen H, Peng XY, Zhang XW, Dai CL, Bie P, Xing BC, Fu ZR, Liu LX, Mu Y, Zhang L, Zhang QS, Jiang B, Qian HX, Wang YJ, Liu JF, Qin XH, Li Q, Yin P, Zhang ZW, Chen XP. Effect of Huaier granule on recurrence after curative resection of HCC: a multicentre, randomised clinical trial. Gut. 2018 Nov;67(11):2006-2016. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2018-315983. Epub 2018 May 25.

    PubMed 29802174

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2/3 study testing Camrelizumab, Apatinib Mesylate and Radical surgery in people with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Immunotherapy, run by Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital at 1 site in China.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 May 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Event-free survival (EFS) assessed by investigator (time frame: up to 3 years). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04521153, which also lists 18 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 May 2025.

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Clinical Trial NCT04521153 | AzTrials