Advanced metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not treatable by surgical approaches or locoregional therapies such as hepatic artery hemoembolization or radiofrequency ablation (RFA) which are effective in controlling localized tumors. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the most commonly performed procedure in the treatment of unresectable liver tumors for selected patients. The TACE procedure delivers highly concentrated drugs to the tumor itself and arrests blood flow. Most patients will have intrahepatic recurrence of their tumors following TACE. Studies of TAC-101, a synthetic retinoid, indicate that although TAC-101 may not induce tumor regression, it appears to have a stabilizing effect, prolonging survival over what was expected historically. This study is designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, phase 2 study in patients with advanced HCC who have undergone a TACE procedure, which will be conducted at multiple sites in Japan, to determine if administration of TAC-101 will enhance the benefits of the TACE procedure.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether TAC-101 combined with Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization (TACE) is more effective than TACE alone in slowing tumor activity in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The study is also looking at the safety of TAC-101 in combination with TACE.