To Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of (18F-FCH) Comparing With (18F-FDG) for Detecting Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2015-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Liver cancer is a major cause of death among patients of east or southeast asian descent, as
well as other population groups, notably in central and west Africa. Diagnosis of liver
cancer requires a combination of several imaging techniques and biopsies. Despite this,
diagnosis can remain inconclusive or difficult to establish in patients at risk for liver
cancer.
The purpose of this multi-center trial is to evaluate novel imaging methods developed to
diagnose the most common form of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma. We propose to use
novel imaging probes that have been reported to bind to liver cancers but not benign liver
lesions that can be confused with liver cancer. Two such imaging probes will be evaluated.
2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose, called [18F]FDG, is a radioactive sugar that is widely used
for cancer imaging with a device called positron emission tomography, or PET scans. We
already know that [18F]FDG cannot detect some liver cancers that are slow growing.
[18F]Fluorocholine ([18F]FCH), another molecule, has been recently reported to be highly
effective at detecting liver cancer. In 2010, a French researcher reported 80-90% detection
rate by using [18F]FCH alone or in combination with [18F]FDG.
We will compare [18F]FCH and [18F]FDG in evaluating 150 patients over a period of two years.
The results will be correlated with those of biopsies and clinical follow-up.
This study will provide valuable data on whether these imaging agents can successfully
differentiate malignant liver lesions from benign ones. It will also provide information
about whether these imaging agents can successfully assess whether the cancer has spread
outside the liver. It will provide data that will allow physicians to determine the optimal
imaging protocol to properly diagnose liver cancer.