Non-invasive Prediction of EArly Cardiac rEjection (PEACE)

August 17, 2026 updated by: Jonathan Soslow, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Predictive Modeling of Acute Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients

Acute rejection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients after heart transplant. In order to screen for rejection, most centers perform heart catheterizations with endomyocardial biopsies frequently in the first year post transplant and then every 1-2 years thereafter; these biopsies are associated with complications, can cause significant anxiety in patients and family members, and are a significant cost for the healthcare system. This project will evaluate non-invasive methods of detecting rejection using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and blood testing with a goal to reduce the required number of cardiac catheterizations.

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.

Detailed Description

Despite significant advances in the care of pediatric heart transplant (PHTx) patients, acute rejection (AR) remains one of the leading causes of death. Cardiac catheterization with endomyocardial biopsy (biopsy) is the standard of care for diagnosing AR and is performed when there is a clinical suspicion for AR or during routine surveillance. Unfortunately, biopsy is invasive and associated with potential risks, including: complications from anesthesia or sedation, valve damage, injury to the conduction system, vascular damage or occlusion, and cardiac perforation. These potential complications are magnified in the pediatric population. Non-invasive methods of detecting AR, such as blood biomarkers and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), could decrease the frequency of biopsy. Blood biomarkers, such has donor fraction cell-free DNA and microRNA, have shown potential for diagnosis of AR but have not yet gained widespread adoption in PHTx. Advanced CMR parametric mapping sequences quantify myocardial fibrosis and edema, and our preliminary data suggest a potential for these sequences to diagnose AR. While CMR parametric mapping has significant promise, focusing simply on the average properties across an entire left ventricular plane or region ignores the spatial patterns of disease, resulting in a loss of information and an impaired ability to use the imaging data to direct care. Here we propose advanced image analysis methods that are more granular than plane analysis, including texture analysis, as a means for objectively analyzing different patterns of myocardial disease and developing predictive models that would allow improved clinical decision making. The central hypothesis of this grant is that non-invasive cardiac magnetic resonance and blood biomarkers can detect myocardial abnormalities consistent with acute rejection in pediatric heart transplant recipients and can predict the need for endomyocardial biopsy. To address this hypothesis, Aim 1 will develop and validate a comprehensive predictive model for identifying PHTx recipients having suspected AR and requiring cardiac catheterization. Aim 2 will evaluate whether blood biomarkers improve the CMR model developed in Aim 1. SubAims will include assessment of cost to determine the most cost-efficient screening protocol. Aim 3 will expand modeling to determine severity of AR as defined histologically. This multi-PI proposal is a prospective, multicenter study to perform CMR in PHTx with and without AR who are also undergoing clinical biopsy. The innovation of this study is the use of advanced CMR, texture analysis, and blood biomarkers for the non-invasive detection of AR. This proposal leverages the support of the Congenital/Pediatric Research Committee within the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR). Application of these data to clinical practice could improve quality of life and decrease associated morbidity by ensuring that only patients with a high probability of rejection undergo biopsy.

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.
Observational

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.
200

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.
  • Name: Jonathan Soslow, MD MSCI
  • Phone Number: 615-322-7447
  • Email: PEACE@vumc.org

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Arkansas
      • Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 72202
        • Recruiting
        • Arkansas Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
          • Study Coordinator
          • Phone Number: 501-364-4000
          • Email: peac@vumc.org
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027
        • Recruiting
        • Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
        • Contact:
          • Study Coordinator
          • Phone Number: 323-361-2461
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • Recruiting
        • UCLA
        • Contact:
      • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
        • Recruiting
        • Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford
        • Contact:
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92123
        • Recruiting
        • Rady Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Colorado
      • Denver, Colorado, United States, 13123
        • Recruiting
        • Children's Hospital Colorado
        • Contact:
    • Florida
      • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32608
        • Recruiting
        • University of Florida
        • Contact:
          • Study Coordinator
          • Phone Number: (352) 273-7770
          • Email: peace@vumc.org
      • Hollywood, Florida, United States, 33021
        • Recruiting
        • Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
        • Recruiting
        • Children's Hospital of Atlanta
        • Contact:
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 02115
        • Recruiting
        • Lurie Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Indiana
      • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
        • Recruiting
        • Riley Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Recruiting
        • Boston Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • Recruiting
        • University of Michigan
        • Contact:
    • Missouri
      • St Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110
        • Recruiting
        • Washington University
        • Contact:
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10032
        • Recruiting
        • Columbia University
        • Contact:
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Recruiting
        • Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Ohio
      • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43205
        • Recruiting
        • Nationwide Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
        • Recruiting
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center
        • Contact:
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Recruiting
        • Texas Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Recruiting
        • UT Health Houston
        • Contact:
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105
        • Recruiting
        • Seattle Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
    • Wisconsin
      • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53226
        • Recruiting
        • Medical College of Wisconsin
        • 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

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pediatric heart transplant recipients undergoing endomyocardial biopsy either for concerns of rejection or for routine surveillance.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Received heart transplant at age < 21 years old
  • > 2 months from transplant
  • ≥6 years old and ≤ 25 years old and able to undergo cardiac MRI (CMR)
  • CMR can be scheduled within 5 days from heart biopsy*
  • Heart catheterization with biopsy is scheduled "for cause" to confirm suspected AR or Heart catheterization with biopsy is scheduled for surveillance

Exclusion Criteria:

  • No endomyocardial biopsy scheduled
  • Other illness or disease process that could potentially lead to myocardial edema or fibrosis
  • Contraindication to CMR with contrast
  • Previously enrolled in this study, UNLESS previous enrollment was heart biopsy scheduled for surveillance with no suspicion of AR AND final study status was documented as "no AR" AND current enrollment is heart biopsy is scheduled "for cause" to confirm suspected AR
  • Multiple transplanted organs
  • Requires anesthesia for CMR

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Healthy pediatric heart transplant recipients
Pediatric heart transplant recipients not having rejection
Pediatric heart transplant recipients with acute rejection
Pediatric heart transplant recipients with acute rejection (ACR or AMR) as defined by the the core pathologist.
Healthy controls
Healthy control patients retrospectively enrolled at each site to standardize parametric mapping.

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
Acute rejection
Time Frame: time of enrollment
Rejection is defined as a clinical event that results in augmentation of immunosuppression. Core pathology laboratory will determine biopsy positive vs biopsy negative rejection.
time of enrollment

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.
Vanderbilt University 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 Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

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.
March 29, 2023

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 1, 2027

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.
June 30, 2027

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).
August 12, 2026

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.
August 12, 2026

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.
August 18, 2026

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.
August 20, 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.
August 17, 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.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • 220773
  • R01HL164995 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Study conclusion

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

We will honor requests for sharing of requested data for non-profit research purposes.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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