A study looking at MRI scans to find out more about cancer of the liver

This study is looking at different types of MRI scans that can pick up activity in liver cancer. It is for people under the care of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

If your doctor thinks you may have liver cancer, there are several tests they can use to find it and see how it responds to treatment. Doctors usually find out about liver cancer by taking a sample of tissue from the liver (a biopsy) and looking at it under a microscope. But this test can be uncomfortable, and there is a small risk of problems linked to the test. So doctors can also use ultrasound scans, CT scans or MRI scans. These help find cancer, and can show how it is responding to treatment. At the moment, doctors look at the size of the cancer on these scans to work out if the cancer is getting better or worse.

Doctors can now get more information about what happens in the cancer, rather than just its size. In this study they want to find out if this extra information is helpful. For example, if they could use it to work out if a cancer will respond to a particular treatment, or how quickly it might get worse. They will study people with liver cancer using a series of MRI scans that collect information about what happens in the cancer. They will then compare the results with treatment outcome. They will also look at extra MRI scans during a course of treatment to find out if this would help doctors see if the cancer is getting better or worse.

The researchers hope that this study will one day help doctors to use MRI scans to work out the best type of treatment for different people.

You will not have any direct benefit from taking part in this study, and it is unlikely to change your treatment plan in any way. But the results of the study will be used to help people with cancer in the future.

Recruitment

Start 27/05/2009

End 31/10/2012

Phase

Pilot

Who can enter

This study is for people under the care of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. If you are suitable for this study, your doctor will ask if you would like to take part. People taking part will

Have the most common type of cancer that starts in the liver (hepatocellular carcinoma)
Have cancer that measures less than 7 cm
Be at least 18 years old

They will also be due to have one of the following treatments for liver cancer

Chemoembolisation
Surgery to remove the cancer and surrounding tissue (liver resection)
Liver transplant surgery
The biological therapy called sorafenib

The study team will also recruit 30 volunteers who do not have liver disease. For every person who joins the study with liver cancer, the team will recruit a volunteer from Addenbrooke’s hospital staff who is the same age and sex.

Trial design

This study will recruit up to 30 people with liver cancer. Everyone will have up to 4 study MRI sessions.

On the morning of your MRI session, you will not be able to eat or drink anything, apart from water, until you have had your study scans. You will have some special dye (contrast) as an injection into a vein in your arm. This helps to show up the liver, and is used routinely for MRI scans.

You will have a series of different types of MRI scan during a session lasting up to 45 minutes. For the session, you lie on the MRI scanner couch. The MRI staff will give you instructions for simple tasks at different points during the scans. For example, they will ask you to hold your breath for between 10 to 25 seconds at a time. At other times they will ask you to lie very still. For a short time during the session you will lie on a soft pad that gently shakes (vibrates). The MRI can take pictures of the shaking and give doctors information about the liver. The staff will also give you pure oxygen to breathe for 5 minutes, to see how your liver and tumour respond.

The team will compare your results with those of people who do not have liver cancer. This will help them to see what normal and abnormal readings would look like.

You will also give the team permission to look at your medical notes to see how you get on with your treatment. They will then compare the results of your scan with your treatment outcome.

Hospital visits

You will have up to 4 MRI study sessions. The timing will depend on your treatment plan. You will either have a study MRI

Every 3 months for a year
After any treatment (apart from surgery to remove your cancer)

Side effects

The MRI contrast injection is very safe, but it can cause problems if you have kidneys that do not work properly. The team will look at blood test results to check that your kidneys are working well before you have this injection.

There is a small chance that these MRI scans may pick up a medical problem that you did not know about. If this happens, the team will pass this information on to your doctor. Your doctor will then talk to you about what they have found, and discuss a plan of treatment if needed.

You can find out more about the safety of MRI scans on CancerHelp UK.