AHCC® as Immune Modulator in Cancer Patients Treated With Immunotherapy

NCT ID: NCT07118735

Last Updated: 2025-08-12

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

94 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-08-20

Study Completion Date

2028-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This is a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate whether AHCC® (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) can enhance the effect of immunotherapy in liver cancer patients.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Objectives:

Assess the potential of AHCC® to improve immunotherapy outcomes Evaluate progression-free survival (PFS) Evaluate overall survival (OS) Assess safety and tolerability

Method:

Participants will take 3 grams of AHCC® or placebo orally each day Treatment will continue until disease progression, treatment intolerance or other treatment options become available.

Note:

AHCC® is a novel functional food with immune-modulating potential.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Liver Cancer Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

This is a prospective double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial aims to investigate whether add-on of a standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (AHCC®) can enhance the effect of immunotherapy in cancer patients.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

participants receive oral administration of 3g AHCC® daily

3 grams of AHCC taken orally once daily until disease progression or intolerance

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

A standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (AHCC®)

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

3 grams of AHCC® taken orally once daily for 6 months or until disease progression or intolerance

Placebo

3 grams of dextrin (placebo) taken orally once daily until disease progression or intolerance

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

3 grams of dextrin (placebo) taken orally once daily for 6 months or until disease progression or intolerance

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

A standardized extract of cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (AHCC®)

3 grams of AHCC® taken orally once daily for 6 months or until disease progression or intolerance

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

3 grams of dextrin (placebo) taken orally once daily for 6 months or until disease progression or intolerance

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

dextrin

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* 1.Liver cancer patient who will receive immunotherapy
* 2.At least one measurable tumor, according to RECIST version 1.1, that has not been treated with any local procedure.
* 3.Age \>=20 years old.
* 4.ECOG performance status 0 or 1.
* 5.White blood count \>=2,000/microliter ; platelet count \>=60,000/microliter.
* 6.Liver transaminases (ALT and AST) \<=5 times upper limit of normal values (ULN); total bilirubin \<= 2 times ULN; creatinine clearance or eGFR \> 50 mL/min (either Cockcroft-Gault or MDRD is acceptable, whichever is higher).
* 7.Subjects with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) positive) must start antiviral therapy with nucleoside analogs (e.g., entecavir or tenofovir, according to current practice guidelines) before start of study drug treatment.

Exclusion Criteria

* 1.Major systemic diseases that the investigator considers inappropriate for participation.
* 2.Any active autoimmune disease or history of known autoimmune disease except for vitiligo, resolved childhood asthma/atopy, type I diabetes mellitus, residual hypothyroidism due to autoimmune condition only requiring hormone replacement, psoriasis not requiring systemic treatment, or conditions not expected to recur in the absence of an external trigger are permitted to enroll.
* 3.Dementia or significantly altered mental status that would prohibit the understanding or rendering of informed consent and compliance with the requirements of this protocol.
* 4.Prior therapy with an anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, or anti-CTLA-4 antibody (or any other antibody or drug specifically targeting T-cell costimulation or checkpoint pathways).
* 5.Requirement of systemic treatment with either corticosteroids (\> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents) or other immunosuppressive medications within 14 days of study drug administration. Inhaled or topical steroids and adrenal replacement doses \> 10 mg daily prednisone equivalents are permitted in the absence of active autoimmune disease.
* 6.Prior organ allograft or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
* 7.Other severe acute or chronic medical or psychiatric condition, or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with study participation and in the judgment of the investigator would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study.
Minimum Eligible Age

20 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

National Cheng-Kung University Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Yih-Jyh Lin

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH)

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

No. 138, Shengli Rd., North Dist

Tainan City, , Taiwan

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Taiwan

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Yung-Yeh Su

Role: CONTACT

+886 67000123 ext. 65181

Chien-Chi Shen

Role: CONTACT

+886 62353535 ext. 5207

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Matsui Y, Uhara J, Satoi S, Kaibori M, Yamada H, Kitade H, Imamura A, Takai S, Kawaguchi Y, Kwon AH, Kamiyama Y. Improved prognosis of postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma patients when treated with functional foods: a prospective cohort study. J Hepatol. 2002 Jul;37(1):78-86. doi: 10.1016/s0168-8278(02)00091-0.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 12076865 (View on PubMed)

Spierings EL, Fujii H, Sun B, Walshe T. A Phase I study of the safety of the nutritional supplement, active hexose correlated compound, AHCC, in healthy volunteers. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2007 Dec;53(6):536-9. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.53.536.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 18202543 (View on PubMed)

Daddaoua A, Martinez-Plata E, Lopez-Posadas R, Vieites JM, Gonzalez M, Requena P, Zarzuelo A, Suarez MD, de Medina FS, Martinez-Augustin O. Active hexose correlated compound acts as a prebiotic and is antiinflammatory in rats with hapten-induced colitis. J Nutr. 2007 May;137(5):1222-8. doi: 10.1093/jn/137.5.1222.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 17449585 (View on PubMed)

Park HJ, Boo S, Park I, Shin MS, Takahashi T, Takanari J, Homma K, Kang I. AHCC(R), a Standardized Extract of Cultured Lentinula Edodes Mycelia, Promotes the Anti-Tumor Effect of Dual Immune Checkpoint Blockade Effect in Murine Colon Cancer. Front Immunol. 2022 Apr 20;13:875872. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.875872. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 35514996 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Download supplemental materials such as informed consent forms, study protocols, or participant manuals.

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

NationalCheng-KungU

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

B-BR-114-016

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Immune Cell Therapy for Advanced Solid Tumors
NCT07260058 NOT_YET_RECRUITING PHASE1/PHASE2