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NCT02435953: TORCH
Transarterial Chemoembolization Plus Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Transarterial Chemoembolization Alone for Intermediate-stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Phase 3 trial testing TACE in Hepatocellular Carcinoma in 241 participants. Completed in 1 October 2025.
1 October 2025
Quick facts
| Lead sponsor | Ming Zhao |
|---|---|
| Phase | Phase 3 |
| Status | Completed |
| Study type | INTERVENTIONAL |
| Allocation | randomized |
| Design | parallel |
| Masking | none |
| Primary purpose | treatment |
| Enrollment | 241 |
| Start date | 1 May 2015 |
| Primary completion | 1 October 2025 |
| Estimated completion | 1 October 2025 |
| Sites | 1 location across China |
Drugs / interventions tested
- TACE
- RFA
Conditions studied
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma — all drugs for Hepatocellular Carcinoma →
- Chemoembolization, Therapeutic — all drugs for Chemoembolization, Therapeutic →
- Ablation Techniques, RFA — all drugs for Ablation Techniques, RFA →
Sponsor
Ming Zhao — full company profile →
Who can join
Adults 18 to 75, any sex, with Hepatocellular Carcinoma or Chemoembolization, Therapeutic. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
What's being measured
Primary outcomes are the specific endpoints the trial is designed to prove or disprove.
-
Progression-free survival (PFS) according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1 (PFS-R)
Time frame: From the date of randomization to the date of occurrence of radiologic disease progression as determined according to the RECIST v1.1, or death (by any cause), whichever occurs first, assessed up to 10 years.
Sponsor's own description
The current standard treatment for intermediate-stage HCC (BCLC stage B) is transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) alone. The combination of TACE with RFA has also reported to be an effective treatment for HCC. Some prospective studies have shown that TACE combined with RFA have better efficacy than any of them alone for early stage HCC (single tumor ≤5 cm). However, to the investigators' knowledge, there have not been any prospective studies to assess whether TACE combined sequentially with RFA is more effective than TACE alone for the treatment of intermediate-stage HCC. The investigators hypothesized that the combination of TACE and RFA might result in better patient survival than TACE alone. Thus, the purpose of this study was to prospectively compare the effects of sequential TACE-RFA with TACE alone for the treatment of intermediate-stage HCC. Intermediate-stage HCC in this study was defined as 2-3 intrahepatic lessions, largest tumor size 3-7 cm or 4-10 intrahepatic lessions, largest tumor size ≤7 cm; ECOG-PS 0; Child-pugh A or B7; no tumor thrombus or extrahepatic metastases.
Publications & conference data
1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
-
The combination of transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) and thermal ablation versus TACE alone for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Liu B, Zhang Y, Chen H, Li W, et al · · 2022 · cited 20× · PMID 34981511 · DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd013345.pub2
Verify or expand the search:
- PubMed search for NCT02435953
- Europe PMC full search
- ASCO Meeting Library
- ESMO Meeting Library
- bioRxiv preprints
- medRxiv preprints
- Google Scholar
Related trials
Other trials of TACE
Trials testing the same drug.
- NCT07487662 — TACE or Ablation Combined With Sintilimab and Ipilimumab N01 as Neoadjuvant Therapy for Resectable Hepatocellular Carcin · Phase 2 · not yet recruiting
- NCT07417800 — Construction and Clinical Validation of a Predictive Model for Postoperative Adjuvant Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinom · NA · not yet recruiting
- NCT07398664 — H101 Plus TACE for r/m HNSCC · Phase 2 · not yet recruiting
- NCT07340502 — TACE Versus HAIC, Combined With PD-1 Inhibitors and Lenvatinib for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma · not yet recruiting
- NCT07309419 — A Phase III Randomized Study of TACE Plus an Oral Triple-Agent Cocktail Versus TACE Plus First-Line Targeted Immunothera · Phase 2, PHASE3 · not yet recruiting
Other recruiting trials for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Currently open trials in the same condition.
- NCT06902246 — Regorafenib and Yttrium-90 Radioembolization for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma · Phase 2 · recruiting
- NCT05842174 — Targeting Ischemia-Induced Autophagy Dependence in Hepatocellular Carcinoma · Phase 1, PHASE2 · recruiting
- NCT07417397 — Adjuvant TACE in HCC With High-risk Recurrence Factors · Phase 3 · recruiting
- NCT07317414 — β-alanine in the Treatment of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma · Phase 2 · recruiting
- NCT07148050 — Immunotherapy for Solid Tumor Malignancies in Pediatrics Using Interleukin-15 and -21 Armored Glypican-3-specific Chimer · Phase 1 · recruiting
Other Ming Zhao trials
Trials by the same sponsor.
- NCT04663035 — Ablation Plus Tislelizumab Versus Ablation Alone for Intrahepatic Recurrent Early Stage HCC · Phase 2 · unknown
- NCT02436044 — HAIC Using Oxaliplatin Plus Fluorouracil/Leucovorin for Patients With Locally Advanced HCC · approved for marketing
Verify against primary sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov — authoritative US registry record
- WHO ICTRP — international registry index
- EU Clinical Trials Register
- Sponsor press releases (Google)
- Trial protocol + status: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02435953 (US National Library of Medicine, public domain)
- Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
- Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
- Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Ming Zhao
- Last refreshed: 28 March 2026
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT02435953.
Primary sources · FDA · ClinicalTrials.gov · EMA · SEC EDGAR · ChEMBL · Wikidata · full sourcing