TRIAL IN FOCUS: 29 July 2025

We’ve extended the TROG 21.07 SOCRATES HCC trial recruitment period and are now seeking participants for the trial which could provide evidence for a new and more effective treatment option for patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

While curative surgical options are recommended for early-stage HCC, most patients are not eligible for surgery. Instead, they are often faced with difficult treatment choices (such as thermal ablation or embolisation) which can be invasive, risky, or only partially effective.

Led by Chief Investigators Professor Alan Wigg from Flinders University in Adelaide and Associate Professor David Pryor from Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, TROG 21.07 SOCRATES HCC – A randomised controlled trial of Standard Of Care versus RadioAblaTion in Early Stage HCC – aims to determine whether stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) can offer a safer, more effective treatment for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The incidence of HCC is rising in Australia, with cases increasing by almost eight-fold in the past 40 years, and the trial could prove a game-changer in the management of the cancer.

In March this year, we opened the final Australian site for the trial at St George Hospital in Sydney, NSW.

There are now 20 trial sites across NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria recruiting patients for the study, with 103 participants currently recruited.

A $200,000 grant from charity Tour-de-Cure has enabled the trial to expand its outreach, with the aim of recruiting a total of 218 patients to gather the vital evidence that is needed about the use of SABR therapy in this type of cancer.

Congratulations to the top recruiting sites so far – Flinders Medical Centre, SA, which has recruited 22 participants, and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in WA, which has recruited 11 participants.

We invite all clinicians treating patients with HCC to consider their eligibility to participate in this important trial, either through their own site or a nearby participating cancer centre.

To find out more about the trial and participating sites, email: SOCRATES_HCC@trog.com.au

• Read more about the trial.