🏛️ Verified NIH Record • Updated 2026-06-30

Radiation Therapy With Protons or Photons in Treating Patients With Liver Cancer (NCT03186898)

🔵 Active, Not Recruiting Phase3 🩺 Clinical Procedure Protocol Sponsor: NRG Oncology

🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)

This phase III trial studies how well radiation therapy with protons works compared with photons in treating patients with liver cancer. Radiation therapy, such as photon therapy, uses high energy x-rays to send the radiation inside the body to the tumor while proton therapy uses a beam of proton particles. Proton therapy can stop shortly after penetrating through the tumor and may cause less damage to the surrounding healthy organs and result in better survival in patients with liver cancer.

Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (18 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (11 items).

Location: Emory Proton Therapy Center — Atlanta, Georgia

📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener

Instant Checklist

Check every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).

Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:

  • Exclusion Criteria:
  • PRIOR TO STEP ONE REGISTRATION:
  • Definitive clinical or radiologic documentation of extrahepatic tumor, defined as extrahepatic metastases or malignant nodes (that enhance with typical features of HCC) \> 3.0 cm, in sum of maximal diameters (e.g. presence of one 3.4 cm metastatic lymph node or two 2 cm lung lesions); note that benign non-enhancing periportal lymphadenopathy is not unusual in the presence of hepatitis and is permitted, even if the sum of enlarged nodes is \> 2.0 cm
  • Uncontrolled prior invasive malignancy, excluding the current diagnosis
  • Systemic chemotherapy for the study cancer \< 2 weeks prior to registration
  • Pregnancy or women of childbearing potential and men who are sexually active and not willing/able to use medically acceptable forms of contraception; this exclusion is necessary because the treatment involved in this study may be significantly teratogenic
  • HIV positive with CD4 count \< 200 cells/microliter; note that patients who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive are eligible, provided they are under treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and have a CD4 count \>= 200 cells/microliter prior to registration; note also that HIV testing is not required for eligibility for this protocol; this exclusion criterion is necessary because the treatments involved in this protocol may be significantly immunosuppressive
  • Prior radiotherapy to the region of the study cancer that would result in overlap of radiation therapy fields (to include Y90)
  • Prior liver transplant
  • PRIOR TO STEP TWO RANDOMIZATION:
  • Unable to obtain confirmation of payment coverage (insurance or other) for either possible treatment

🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.

📍 All Participating Trial Locations (27 Sites)

  • Emory Proton Therapy Center — Atlanta, Georgia
  • Emory University Hospital Midtown — Atlanta, Georgia
  • Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute — Atlanta, Georgia
  • Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital — Atlanta, Georgia
  • Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center Warrenville — Warrenville, Illinois
  • Maryland Proton Treatment Center — Baltimore, Maryland
  • University of Maryland/Greenebaum Cancer Center — Baltimore, Maryland
  • Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center — Boston, Massachusetts
  • Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital — Dearborn, Michigan
  • Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital — Royal Oak, Michigan
  • Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital — Troy, Michigan
  • Washington University School of Medicine — St Louis, Missouri
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge — Basking Ridge, New Jersey
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth — Middletown, New Jersey
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen — Montvale, New Jersey
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Commack — Commack, New York
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester — East White Plains, New York
  • New York Proton Center — New York, New York
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — New York, New York
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau — Uniondale, New York
  • University of Cincinnati Cancer Center-UC Medical Center — Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Case Western Reserve University — Cleveland, Ohio
  • Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Columbus, Ohio
  • University of Cincinnati Cancer Center-West Chester — West Chester, Ohio
  • UT MD Anderson Cancer Center — Houston, Texas

💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights

  • 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
  • Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
  • Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.
🏛️ View Official NIH Record ↗