Perioperative Pembrolizumab and Lenvatinib in Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

This study is looking for adult patients (18 years or older) who have been diagnosed with a specific type of liver cancer called Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). For you to be considered, your cancer must be suitable for surgical removal by doctors. Important points about your diagnosis include that it needs to be confirmed by scans, tissue samples, or cell tests, and it shouldn't be a rare subtype of liver cancer.

To ensure your safety and that the study results are clear, doctors will also check other aspects of your health. This includes making sure your liver is working well enough (a specific measure called Child-Pugh A), your blood tests are within certain ranges (like blood counts and kidney function), and you're generally fit enough for the treatment (doctors use a scale called ECOG Performance Status, looking for 0 or 1). If you've had hepatitis B or C, you might still be able to join, but specific conditions apply, such as the virus being well-controlled or undetectable.

The research team will carry out several tests to make sure you meet all the requirements for the study. If your liver cancer cannot be removed by surgery, or if you have other serious health conditions that could make the treatment unsafe for you, you would not be able to participate. They will explain all the criteria in detail and answer any questions you have.

If you decide to take part in this study, your journey will involve several stages. First, you'll undergo about six weeks of treatment before your surgery. During this time, you'll either receive pembrolizumab, lenvatinib, or both, depending on which group you are randomly assigned to. After your surgery, you will then continue with pembrolizumab treatment for up to a year.

Throughout these treatment periods, and for some time afterwards, you'll have regular visits to the clinic for assessments. These visits will involve blood tests, scans, and discussions with the study doctors and nurses to monitor your health, how you're responding to the treatment, and to check for any side effects. The total duration you'll be followed by the study team will be at least one year and could be up to three years after your post-surgery treatment ends. The researchers expect to take about two years to find all the patients for this study.