This study is for people with liver cancer (also called hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC in
abbreviation).
The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy (effectiveness) of a new combination of
drugs, ABT-888 and temozolomide for patients with liver cancer. Temozolomide acts by damaging
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in rapidly dividing cells, in other words, cancer cells. ABT-888
inhibits an enzyme called "PARP" which helps to fix damaged DNA. By inhibiting this enzyme,
ABT-888 prevents cancer cells from repairing the damage caused by the temozolomide and will
hopefully increase the killing of cancer cells, and decrease the tumors in the body.
ABT-888 is an investigational or experimental anti-cancer agent that has not yet been
approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in liver cancer.
This study will help find out what effects (good and bad) the combination of drugs,
temozolomide and ABT-888, has on liver cancer.
This research is being done because it is not known if ABT-888 will increase the
effectiveness of temozolomide in liver cancer.