NCT02379377

Brief Summary

This clinical trial studies fluorine F 18 L-glutamate derivative BAY94-9392 (18F-FSPG) positron emission tomography (PET) in imaging patients with liver cancer before undergoing surgery or transplant. Diagnostic procedures, such as 18F-FSPG PET, may help find and diagnose liver cancer and find out how far the disease has spread.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
110

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for phase_1

Timeline
13mo left

Started Feb 2022

Longer than P75 for phase_1

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress80%
Feb 2022May 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 6, 2015

Completed
26 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 4, 2015

Completed
7 years until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 15, 2022

Completed
5.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

May 31, 2027

Expected
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

May 31, 2027

Last Updated

March 9, 2026

Status Verified

March 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

5.3 years

First QC Date

February 6, 2015

Last Update Submit

March 5, 2026

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (10)

  • 18F-FSPG PET standardized uptake value (SUV)

    The Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) for 18F-FSPG PET images will be determined in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor lesions, non-HCC liver tumors (benign), and background liver (normal tissue). These metrics include SUVmax, SUVpeak, or SUVmean and are common PET imaging measures.

    Within 4 weeks of standard-of-care imaging, within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • 11C-acetate standardized uptake value (SUV)

    The Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) for 11C-acetate PET images will be determined in the tumor lesions and background liver (normal tissue). These metrics include SUVmax, SUVpeak, or SUVmean and are common PET imaging measures.

    Within 4 weeks of standard-of-care imaging, within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • 18F-FDG standardized uptake value (SUV)

    The Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) for 18F-FDG PET images will be determined in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor lesions and background liver (normal tissue). These metrics include SUVmax, SUVpeak, or SUVmean and are common PET imaging measures.

    Within 4 weeks of standard-of-care imaging, within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • Pharmacokinetics of 18F-FSPG, 11C-acetate, and 18F-FDG

    The pharmacokinetics of 18F-FSPG, 11C-acetate and 18F-FDG uptake will be determined using compartmental modeling of PET imaging data. Venous samples will be collected over the course of 18F-FSPG, 11C-acetate and 18F-FDG scans to confirm blood pool radioactivity, evaluate metabolism, and to calibrate image-derived input functions. We will also utilize blood samples collected prior to scanning to assay plasma levels of carbon-12 acetate and glucose in each patient to explore normalizing pharmacokinetic parameters across patients.

    Within 4 weeks of standard-of-care imaging, within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • Number of lesions

    The number of lesions detected by 18F-FSPG PET will be determined and compared to the number of lesions detected by standard-of-care MRI, 11C-acetate PET, or 18F-FDG PET on a per patient basis.

    Within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • Sensitivity of 18F-FSPG PET imaging

    Sensitivity is defined as the true positive rate. It is defined as true positive/(true positive + false negative). The determination of HCC status will be based on diagnostic pathology.

    Within 4 weeks of standard-of-care imaging, within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • Specificity of 18F-FSPG PET imaging

    Specificity is defined as the true negative rate. It is defined as true negative/(true negative + false positive). The determination of HCC status will be based on diagnostic pathology.

    Within 4 weeks of standard-of-care imaging, within 4 weeks of liver resection surgery, within 12 months of orthotopic liver transplant and prior to therapy

  • Diagnostic pathology

    Tissue samples will be obtained for patients following either liver resection surgery or orthotopic liver transplant. Pathology will be performed on these tumor tissues as the gold-standard assessment to confirm the presence of HCC tumor. Histology will be correlated to PET imaging data.

    After surgery; Through study completion, up to 4 years

  • Tumor grade

    Tissue samples will be obtained for patients following either liver resection surgery or orthotopic liver transplant. Tumor grade will be determined from pathology of tissue samples and correlated to PET imaging data for 18F-FSPG, 11C-acetate and 18F-FDG PET. The concordance of 18F-FSPG PET/CT and 11C-acetate PET/CT or 18F-FSPG PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT will be evaluated. This will determine whether 18F-FSPG can be used singularly in place of combined use of 11C-acetate PET/CT (which typically detects low grade HCC) and 18F-FDG PET/CT (which typically detects high grade HCC).

    After surgery; Through study completion, up to 4 years

  • Immunohistochemistry

    Tissue samples will be obtained for patients following liver resection surgery. The expression of immunohistochemical markers (ie. xC- and CD44) will be evaluated in these tumor tissues on an ordinal scale of 0, 1, 2 or 3 and correlated to 18F-FSPG PET imaging data. In addition, markers of inflammation and immune cell recruitment (ie. CD86, CD163, CD3), proliferation (Ki67), and apoptosis (Caspase 3) will also be evaluated and correlated to 18F-FSPG PET imaging data.

    After surgery; Through study completion, up to 4 years

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Metabolic profile

    After surgery; Through study completion, up to 4 years

  • Milan classification

    Baseline prior to imaging and surgery

Study Arms (2)

Diagnostic (18F-FSPG PET)

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients undergo an 18F-FSPG PET scan within 4 weeks of surgery or OLT. Patients may also receive a second 18F-FSPG PET scan following standard-of-care treatment.

Biological: Fluorine F 18 L-glutamate Derivative 18F-FSPGProcedure: Positron Emission TomographyOther: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis

Diagnostic (11C-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET)

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients may undergo either carbon-11 (11C)-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET scans within 4 weeks of surgery or OLT.

Biological: Fluorine F 18 L-glutamate Derivative 18F-FSPGBiological: Carbon C 11 AcetateProcedure: Positron Emission TomographyOther: Laboratory Biomarker AnalysisBiological: Fluorine F 18 2-deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose

Interventions

Undergo 18F-FDG PET scan

Also known as: 18F-FDG
Diagnostic (11C-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET)

Undergo 18F-FSPG PET scan

Also known as: BAY94-9392
Diagnostic (11C-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET)Diagnostic (18F-FSPG PET)

Undergo 11C-acetate PET scan

Also known as: 11C-acetate
Diagnostic (11C-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET)

Undergo 18F-FSPG, 11C-acetate, or 18F-FDG PET

Also known as: Medical Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography, PET, PET Scan, Positron Emission Tomography Scan
Diagnostic (11C-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET)Diagnostic (18F-FSPG PET)

Correlative studies

Diagnostic (11C-Acetate PET or 18F-FDG PET)Diagnostic (18F-FSPG PET)

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Diagnosis of HCC with one or more of the following:
  • Liver mass with non-rim arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE) and one of the following: 1) 10-19 mm with ≥2 additional major features according to LI-RADS criteria ("washout", enhancing "capsule", and/or threshold growth), 2) 10-19 mm with "washout" and visibility at antecedent ultrasound (US) but with no "capsule" or threshold growth, 3) 10-19 mm with ≥50% size increase in ≤6 months but with no "washout" or "capsule" or 4) ≥20 mm with ≥1 additional major feature according to LI-RADS criteria ("washout", enhancing "capsule", or threshold growth).
  • Lesions that meet LI-RADS 4 criteria or
  • Lesions that meet LI-RADS 5 criteria or
  • Suggestive imaging findings plus AFP \> 200 mg/dL or
  • Tumor confirmed by arteriography or
  • Pathologic confirmation of tumor or
  • Diagnosis of a benign abdominal or pelvic tumor with the following characteristics:
  • Liver mass (≥ 1 cm) that has suggestive imaging findings of a benign liver mass (adenoma, hemangioma, focal nodular hyperplasia).
  • Prior SOC MRI or CT of the benign lesion within 8 weeks of enrollment or
  • Diagnosis of a malignant non-HCC liver tumor with one or more of the following characteristics:
  • Liver mass (≥ 1 cm) that is biopsy proven, MRI-confirmed, or CT-confirmed metastatic disease (metastatic colorectal cancer, metastatic pancreatic cancer).
  • Liver mass (≥ 1 cm) that is a non-HCC primary malignancy (cholangiocarcinoma).
  • Prior SOC MRI or CT of the malignant non-HCC liver tumor within 8 weeks of enrollment or
  • Diagnosis of oligometastatic solid tumors in the following disease sites: colorectal, sarcoma, lung, head and neck, ovarian, renal, melanoma, pancreatic, prostate, cervix, breast, uterine and cholangiocarcinoma undergoing local consolidative therapy.
  • +4 more criteria

You may not qualify if:

  • Participants under the age of 18 will be excluded from this study.
  • Participants who have HCC or cholangiocarcinoma but are not candidates for liver resection surgery or OLT, or Y90 radioembolization.
  • Pregnant and breastfeeding patients. Adequate birth control measures (oral, implanted, or barrier methods) must be used by all female participants of childbearing potential until all research PET scans are completed. Female participants of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test within 24 hours of the proposed investigational PET/CT scan(s) prior to injection of the investigational radiopharmaceutical.
  • Participants with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (fasting blood glucose level \> 200 mg/dL).
  • Participants with a known Infiltrative variant of HCC.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas, 77090, United States

RECRUITING

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Carcinoma, HepatocellularCholangiocarcinoma

Interventions

carbon-11 acetateMagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyFluorodeoxyglucose F18

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

AdenocarcinomaCarcinomaNeoplasms, Glandular and EpithelialNeoplasms by Histologic TypeNeoplasmsLiver NeoplasmsDigestive System NeoplasmsNeoplasms by SiteDigestive System DiseasesLiver Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Spectrum AnalysisChemistry Techniques, AnalyticalInvestigative TechniquesDeoxyglucoseDeoxy SugarsCarbohydrates

Study Officials

  • Simone S Krebs, MD

    M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Simone S Krebs, MD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 1
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Cohorts A and B are Parallel. Cohorts C and D are Single Group. Cohorts E and F Single Group
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 6, 2015

First Posted

March 4, 2015

Study Start

February 15, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2027

Last Updated

March 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Locations