Pharmacological Manipulation of Intrahepatic Arterial Blood Flow in HCC
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2020-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
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.