Intensive Cholesterol-Lowering and CD8+ T Cells in Prostate Cancer

March 9, 2026 updated by: Hyung L. Kim, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Lowering Cholesterol in Prostate Cancer to Target Rapamycin-Insensitive Companion Of MTOR (TORC2) in T-Cell Surface Glycoprotein CD8 Alpha Chain (CD8+) Lymphocytes

To test the hypothesis that intensive cholesterol lowering (iCL) therapy has anti-tumor immune modulating activity, the investigators will conduct an open-label, single-arm phase II trial in prostate cancer patients who are in active surveillance and undergoing a planned surveillance biopsy in 3-6 months. Eligible patients will initiate iCL with Vytorin®(group 1, 2, and 3), an FDA-approved combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin used to lower atherogenic low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or Ezetimibe (group 4). Starting dose will be determined by current statin use and LDL-C levels. Dose modifications of VYTORIN will be employed with the goal of achieving LDL-C <70 mg/dl. Dose adjustment is not allowed for ezetimibe.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
140

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90048
        • Recruiting
        • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form.
  2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.

  3. At least one Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk factor, such as:

    1. ≥ 50 years of age
    2. Hypertension
    3. Hypercholesterolemia
    4. Diabetes
    5. Current or former smoker
    6. First-degree family history of any cardiovascular heart disease
    7. BMI > 25
    8. On hypertension treatment, statin, and/or aspirin therapy

  4. Patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. That is Low or intermediate risk prostate cancer defined as:

    1. Pre-operative PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) ≤ 20.0 ng/ml
    2. Clinical stage T1c or cT2
    3. Gleason score 3+3 or 3+4 or 4+3
  5. Patients on AS with plans for surveillance biopsy
  6. No previous treatment for prostate cancer with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or hormonal therapy
  7. Ability to take oral medication and be willing to adhere to once daily, oral Vytorin or ezetimibe.
  8. Agree to avoid consumption of grapefruit and grapefruit juice ≥ one quart per day throughout study duration.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Current use of medications contraindicated for use with a statin such as strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, HIV protease inhibitors, and nefazodone).
  2. Current use of medications contraindicated for use with ezetimibe (i.e., gemfibrozil, cyclosporine, or danazol).
  3. History of allergic or severe reaction to a either study agent.
  4. History of moderate or severe myalgia with statin use.
  5. Acute liver failure or decompensated cirrhosis
  6. Already on maximum VYTORIN dose (10/80)
  7. Already on medication(s) known to interact with Vytorin or Ezetimibe that may prevent protocol-based escalation of cholesterol-lowering therapy from pre-enrollment baseline.
  8. Already on a PCSK9 inhibitor

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intensive Lipid Lowering
Single arm with dual agents (ezetimibe and simvastatin) or single agent (ezetimibe). These agents target the two primary sources of cholesterol, absorption in the gut (ezetimibe) and synthesis in the liver (simvastatin). The dual agents are available in a single pill that is FDA approved and sold under the trade name, Vytorin.
Drug: Vytorin
Vytorin is a drug combination (Ezetimibe and Simvastatin) that targets the two primary sources of cholesterol, absorption in the gut and synthesis in the liver.
Drug: Ezetimibe
Ezetimibe is a drug that targets one of the primary sources of cholesterol, absorption in the gut.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pre/Post-change in percent prostate infiltrating CD8+ T lymphocytes.
Time Frame: 3 to 6 months of cholesterol-lowering intervention
Our primary hypothesis is that maximum cholesterol lowering will increase CD8+ memory T cells and increase CD8+ T cell infiltration into prostate tissue. Change in CD8+ T cells in the prostate from baseline to 3 to 6 months is the primary endpoint.
3 to 6 months of cholesterol-lowering intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Hyung Kim, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 16, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 29, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 23, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 29, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 31, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 9, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY00003290
  • R01CA280060 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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