Liver Transplantation After ex Vivo Liver Perfusion — EVOLVE  

Liver Cancer Clinical Trial

Official title: Liver Transplantation After ex Vivo Liver Perfusion - The EVOLVE Study

Status Not yet recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Today, it is difficult to predict liver function after transplantation and therefore livers where poor function is assumed (marginal livers) become discarded. The study aim is to increase the number of available donor livers, especially for liver cancer patients, by pre-treating and testing marginal ones (extended criteria donor (ECD) livers) liver on a liver perfusion machine. A liver perfusion machine can simulate liver transplantation and enables functional/quality testing before transplantation. The machine will hopefully also make marginal livers more functional by reducing ischemia- & reperfusion injury. A marginal donor liver is perfused ex situ with oxygenated blood from a blood donor on a machine. The liver can be tested here for function using internationally recognized criteria. At the same time, the investigators will carry out analyzes with microdialysis which can give a better picture of organ function and damage. Additionally, various samples of the liver and perfusate will be collected. Liver that achieves criteria for transplantation will be offered to the recipient.

Clinical Trial Description

The study is a single-center, prospective, open-label cohort study designed to determine the efficacy of liver perfusion of marginal ECD livers on a perfusion machine before liver transplantation. Donor livers will be preserved with standard cooling followed by three perfusion modes (Dual hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (DHOPE) / Controlled oxygenated rewarming (COR) / Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP)), a method used internationally to pre-treating marginal livers before liver transplantation and which able testing of function and quality before a transplantation is performed. Only livers that fulfill international criteria (Groningen criteria) will be approved for Ltx. In this study microdialysis will be used to monitoring the liver during machine perfusion and up to 14 days in the postoperative course to monitor the function of the liver. The hypothesis is that microdialysis will provide a better prediction of liver function than the existing Groeningen criteria. The investigators expect that most included patients, who receive ECD livers perfused on a machine, will receive a postoperative well-functioning liver graft which entails a significant survival benefit. The study is designed as a cohort study because included patients have a very poor prognosis (median overall survival of approx. 6 months) and others treatment options are lacking. The primary objective is to establish definitive, objective criteria for pre-transplant liver function by defining a threshold value for microdialysis parameters (especially lactate) between donor livers that will restore function and those that will not during ex vivo machine perfusion in ECD livers, which are superior to established criteria (Groeningen and Viability testing and transplantation of marginal livers (VITTAL) criteria)). The primary endpoint is microdialysis lactate level between donor livers after 4 hours of normothermic machine perfusion in ECD livers. The follow-up period is 12 months. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Liver Cancer
• Liver Metastases
• Liver Neoplasms
• Liver Transplant; Complications
• Transplant
• Transplant Dysfunction
• Transplant; Complication, Rejection
• Transplant; Failure, Liver

• NCT number: NCT05951231
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Oslo University Hospital
• Contact: Søren E Pischke, MD, PhD
• Phone: 45486579
• Email: s.e.pischke@medisin.uio.no
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 2024
• Completion date: February 2029