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Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)NCT07768085

Pragmatic RCT of AI-Assisted Reading for Malignant Hepatic Lesions on CE-CT

A study testing AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reporting and Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistance in people with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) and Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (Icc), run by Shengjing Hospital at 1 site in China.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this multicenter pragmatic randomized controlled trial is to determine whether AI-assisted interpretation of multiphasic liver contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) is non-inferior to standard radiology reporting with respect to missed clinically significant malignant focal liver lesions, with… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reporting and Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistance
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
40,000 participants
Where
1 siteChina
Study dates
17 Aug 2026to 31 Dec 2027
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Age range 18 years and above
  • Underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced abdominal CT examination with liver coverage
  • Imaging must include at least three required phases: non-contrast, arterial phase, and venous phase; a delayed phase is optional
  • Complete imaging data that meet AI system and radiologist interpretation requirements.

Who cannot join

  • History of recent upper-abdominal surgery (within 30 days) or major hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery affecting liver evaluation (e.g., liver transplantation or Whipple procedure); patients with prior simple cholecystectomy or single-lesion interventional procedures are not excluded
  • History of recent hepatic trauma (within 30 days)
  • Poor image quality or severe noise artifacts (e.g., metal or motion artifacts)
  • Missing required imaging phases (required at least non-contrast, arterial, and venous phases) or inadequate scan range (e.g., lower-abdomen CT such as pelvic or rectal scans not covering the liver)

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

China1 site
  • Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University

    Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004

    Yu MD PhD Shi, MD, +86 189 4025 9980, 18940259980@163.com

    Yu Shi, MD, +86 189 4025 9980, 18940259980@163.com

Other trials in China

About this study

Official title: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of AI-Assisted Reading Compared With Standard Radiology Interpretation for Malignant Hepatic Lesions on Contrast-Enhanced CT: Diagnostic, Clinical and Workflow Outcomes

The purpose of this multicenter pragmatic randomized controlled trial is to determine whether AI-assisted interpretation of multiphasic liver contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) is non-inferior to standard radiology reporting with respect to missed clinically significant malignant focal liver lesions, with the non-inferiority margin prespecified in the statistical analysis plan before enrollment, and whether it improves lesion detection, diagnostic characterization, downstream clinical management, and reporting efficiency. On AI-assisted center-days, AI results will be revealed only after the first-line radiologist has saved an unaided initial assessment and may be used to revise the final report. On control center-days, examinations will be interpreted using the standard radiology workflow without access to AI tools.

Read the detailed description

Multiphasic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) is widely used to evaluate focal liver lesions, but clinically significant malignancies may be missed or incompletely characterized. This prospective, multicenter, pragmatic, cluster-randomized, center-day crossover trial will compare AI-assisted reporting with standard radiology reporting. Center-days will be assigned in an approximately 1:1 ratio using a centrally generated randomized sequence, and each participant will receive only one workflow. In the AI-assisted arm, the radiologist will save an unaided initial assessment before the locked AI output is revealed and may revise or retain the assessment before authorizing the final report. In the control arm, examinations will be interpreted without access to AI outputs. The primary outcome will be the proportion of participants with a reference-standard-confirmed clinically significant malignant focal liver lesion that was missed or inadequately characterized in the final report. The reference standard will incorporate histopathology, follow-up imaging, multidisciplinary consensus, and relevant clinical records. Non-inferiority will be assessed using a margin prespecified in the statistical analysis plan before enrollment, followed by superiority testing if non-inferiority is demonstrated. Secondary outcomes include senior-review workload, final report turnaround time, detection rate of clinically significant malignant liver lesions, clinically appropriate management-change rate, and time to initiation of treatment for liver malignancy.

Being tested
AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reporting, Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistance
Keywords
Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced CT, Focal Liver Lesions, Artificial intelligence, AI-assisted interpretation
Medical subject headings
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular, Cholangiocarcinoma, Cirrhosis, Familial, with Pulmonary Hypertension, Cysts, Focal Nodular Hyperplasia

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reportingOther

    After the unaided initial assessment is saved, the locked AI system will display lesion localization, patient-level and lesion-level malignancy probabilities, prespecified lesion-class suggestions, and uncertainty or technical-failure warnings. The first-line radiologist may revise or retain the initial assessment and must record acceptance, rejection, or uncertainty for clinically important AI suggestions. The senior reviewer may view the initial assessment, AI output, and revision history. AI may not autonomously authorize reports, prescribe management, or communicate diagnoses directly to participants.

  • Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistanceOther

    Eligible multiphasic abdominal CE-CT examinations will be interpreted and reported according to the site's standard radiology workflow, including routine senior review where applicable. AI system outputs will not be available to radiologists or clinical staff, and no AI-triggered safety-net review will be performed. Routine report addenda, urgent communication, multidisciplinary review, additional imaging, and subsequent clinical management will remain available according to standard clinical practice.

Study groups in NCT07768085
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
AI-on: AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reportingExperimentalIntervention: AI-assisted interpretation of abdominal CE-CT
Receives: Other: AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reporting
AI-off: Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistanceActive comparatorRoutine interpretation of abdominal CE-CT without access to AI system (standard of care)
Receives: Other: Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistance

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Per-participant rate of missed clinically significant liver malignancy

    Proportion of all enrolled participants with at least one reference-standard-confirmed clinically significant liver malignancy, including hepatocellular carcinoma, liver metastasis, or another primary hepatic malignancy, that was not identified or appropriately characterized in the final index CE-CT report. The reference standard will comprise histopathology when available; otherwise, 12-month imaging and clinical follow-up and relevant record linkage, adjudicated by an independent committee masked to allocation. Non-inferiority will be assessed against a margin prespecified before enrollment.

    Measured: From the index CE-CT examination through 12 months

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Senior-review workload

    Number of examinations requiring senior radiologist review per 100 eligible CE-CT examinations, compared between AI-assisted and standard-reporting center-days.

    Measured: Up to 24 hours after the eligible CE-CT examination becomes available for interpretation

  2. Final report turnaround time

    Time in minutes from availability of the complete CE-CT examination for interpretation to authorization of the final clinical report.

    Measured: Up to 24 hours after the complete CE-CT examination becomes available for interpretation

  3. Detection rate of clinically significant malignant liver lesions

    Proportion of enrolled participants with a reference-standard-confirmed clinically significant malignant liver lesion identified in the final index CE-CT report. Results will be reported overall and for prespecified subgroups, including confirmed HCC smaller than 2 cm, BCLC stage 0 HCC, and liver metastases stratified by primary tumor site.

    Measured: From the index CE-CT examination through 12 months

  4. Clinically appropriate management-change rate

    Proportion of participants with an independently adjudicated change in diagnostic evaluation, referral, biopsy, treatment, or surveillance attributable to the final index CE-CT report, including avoidance of unnecessary downstream work-up.

    Measured: From the index CE-CT examination through 12 months

  5. Time to initiation of treatment for liver malignancy

    Time in days from the index CE-CT examination to initiation of first anti-hepatic malignancy treatment (surgery, ablation, transarterial therapy, systemic therapy, or radiotherapy) among participants with reference-standard-confirmed malignant liver lesions. Median time and interquartile range will be reported, and the proportion of participants starting treatment within clinically relevant time thresholds (e.g., 30 days, 60 days, 90 days) will be compared between groups.

    Measured: From the index CE-CT examination through 12 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted17 Aug 2026
  2. Study start17 Aug 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion31 Dec 2027 (estimated)
  4. Study completion31 Dec 2027 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
A cluster-randomized, center-day crossover trial with participant-level parallel assignment.
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
40,000 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07768085
Sponsor's protocol ID
SH-Lion2RCT--Intervention
Status last verified
Aug 2026
First submitted
11 Aug 2026
Last updated
17 Aug 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes

Publications

  • Elias-Cabot E, Romero-Martin S, Raya-Povedano JL, Rodriguez-Ruiz A, Alvarez-Benito M. AI-based triage and decision support in mammography and digital tomosynthesis for breast cancer screening: a paired, noninferiority trial. Nat Med. 2026 Apr;32(4):1296-1305. doi: 10.1038/s41591-026-04277-x. Epub 2026 Mar 19.

    PubMed 41857202
  • Woznitza N, Smith L, Rawlinson J, Au-Yong I, George B, Djearaman MG, Nair A, Lee RW, Navani N, Ndwandwe S, Clarke CS, Creeden A, Newsome J, Das I, Abaokporo S, Tucker R, Hathorn J, Baldwin DR. AI-based chest X-ray prioritization in the lung cancer diagnostic pathway: the LungIMPACT randomized controlled trial. Nat Med. 2026 May;32(5):1737-1744. doi: 10.1038/s41591-026-04253-5. Epub 2026 Mar 24.

    PubMed 41876649
  • Ding W, Meng Y, Ma J, Pang C, Wu J, Tian J, Yu J, Liang P, Wang K. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound-based AI model for multi-classification of focal liver lesions. J Hepatol. 2025 Aug;83(2):426-439. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2025.01.011. Epub 2025 Jan 21.

    PubMed 39848548
  • Ying H, Liu X, Zhang M, Ren Y, Zhen S, Wang X, Liu B, Hu P, Duan L, Cai M, Jiang M, Cheng X, Gong X, Jiang H, Jiang J, Zheng J, Zhu K, Zhou W, Lu B, Zhou H, Shen Y, Du J, Ying M, Hong Q, Mo J, Li J, Ye G, Zhang S, Hu H, Sun J, Liu H, Li Y, Xu X, Bai H, Wang S, Cheng X, Xu X, Jiao L, Yu R, Lau WY, Yu Y, Cai X. A multicenter clinical AI system study for detection and diagnosis of focal liver lesions. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 7;15(1):1131. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45325-9.

    PubMed 38326351

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing AI-assisted abdominal CE-CT reporting and Standard abdominal CE-CT reporting without AI assistance in people with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) and Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (Icc), run by Shengjing Hospital at 1 site in China.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Yu MD PhD Shi (+86 189 4025 9980, 18940259980@163.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Per-participant rate of missed clinically significant liver malignancy (time frame: From the index CE-CT examination through 12 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07768085, which also lists 4 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Aug 2026.

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