National Liver Cancer Screening Trial
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
- Liver Cancer
- Liver Cirrhosis
- Hepatitis B
At a glance
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Study type
- Interventional
- Sponsor
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Enrolment target
- 5,500
- Started
- 26 December 2023
- Main results due
- 31 December 2029
- Study sites
- 19
- Registry updated
- 25 September 2026
Can you take part?
- Ages 18 years to 85 years.
- Open to any sex.
- You need the condition being studied — healthy volunteers are not accepted.
These are the headline rules only. Every study has a longer list, and whether you are eligible is decided by the research team at the site — never by this page.
Read the full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Patient must meet all of the following inclusion criteria: 1. Adult patients ages 18-85 with cirrhosis from any etiology or with chronic hepatitis B with a PAGE-B score greater than 9 within 12 months of enrollment 2. Patient is eligible for HCC surveillance according to treating physician or by the site investigator 3. Able to provide informed consent 4. Life expectancy \>6 months (after consent) as determined by the treating provider or site investigator Exclusion Criteria: Patient will be excluded for any of the following exclusion criteria: 1. Child Pugh C cirrhosis 2. History or clinical symptoms of hepatocellular carcinoma or cholangiocarcinoma 3. History of solid nodule on baseline ultrasound (i.e., lesion 1cm or greater) within 9 months prior to consent without subsequent diagnostic CT/MRI demonstrating benign nature) 4. AFP \>20 ng/mL within 6 months prior to consent, in the absence of a contrast-enhanced CT or MRI within 6 months of AFP (before or after) level demonstrating lack of suspicious liver lesions 5. Newly diagnosed LR-3 greater than or equal to 1 cm within 6 months prior to consent 6. History of LR-4, LR-5, or LR-M on multi-phase CT or contrast-enhanced MRI within 6 months prior to consent 7. Presence of another active cancer besides non-melanomatous skin cancer or indolent cancer under active surveillance (e.g., prostate cancer or renal cell carcinoma) within the 2 years prior to consent 8. Patient's provider is planning to use MRI- or CT- based surveillance moving forward 9. History of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) 10. History of Fontan associated liver disease or cardiac cirrhosis 11. History of solid organ transplantation 12. Actively listed for liver transplantation 13. Diagnosis of alcohol-associated hepatitis within 3 months prior to consent 14. Documented current or continued signs and symptoms of acute Wilson disease (acute liver failure, acute neurological deficits, hemolysis) 15. In patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC): Current active cholangitis within 90 days prior to consent 16. Known or documented habitual non-adherence to previous research studies or medical procedures or unwillingness to adhere to protocol (e.g., unwilling to obtain consent or samples) 17. In patients living with HIV: CD4+ T cell count less than 100 cells/mm3 within 60 days prior to consent 18. Known pregnancy at consent 19. Active warfarin use
What this study is about
In the sponsor’s own words, from the registry.
The National Liver Cancer Screening Trial is an adaptive randomized phase IV Trial comparing ultrasound-based versus biomarker-based screening in 5500 patients with cirrhosis from any etiology or patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Eligible patients will be randomized in a 1:1 fashion to Arm A using semi-annual ultrasound and AFP-based screening or Arm B using semi-annual screening using GALAD alone. Randomization will be stratified by sex, enrolling site, Child Pugh class (A vs. B), and HCC etiology (viral vs. non-viral). Patients will be recruited from 15 sites (mix of tertiary care and large community health systems) over a 3-year period, and the primary endpoint of the phase IV trial, reduction in late-stage HCC, will be assessed after 5.5 years.
Study sites(19)
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, United States
Recruiting
Stanford University
Redwood City, California, United States
Recruiting
Kaiser Permanente
Roseville, California, United States
Recruiting
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
Recruiting
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Recruiting
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Recruiting
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Recruiting
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Recruiting
Henry Ford Health System
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Recruiting
Hennepin Healthcare
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Recruiting
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Recruiting
The Feinstein Institutes, Northwell Health, Inc.
Manhasset, New York, United States
Recruiting
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
Recruiting
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Active, not recruiting
The Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Recruiting
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Recruiting
UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital
Dallas, Texas, United States
Recruiting
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States
Recruiting
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Recruiting
Showing 19 of 19 sites. 18 of the 19 sites on this study are recruiting right now — a site can stop enrolling while the study as a whole is still open.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT06084234. Trialion does not run this study, is not paid to refer anyone to it, and cannot enrol you. Eligibility is always decided by the research team at the site.
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