Retreatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Non-responders With Pegylated Interferon Alpha Plus Ribavirin Plus Pioglitazone

May 27, 2015 updated by: Negro Francesco, University Hospital, Geneva

A Pilot Study of Treatment With Pegylated Interferon-Alpha2a, Ribavirin and Insulin Sensitizer Pioglitazone of Insulin Resistance (With the Exception of Diabetes) in Hepatitis C Virus Infection (The INSPIRED HCV Study)

The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of an insulin-sensitizer (Actos) added to a standard Pegasys/Copegus combination therapy of chronic hepatitis C in patients who have previously failed a pegylated-interferon-alpha / ribavirin combination without the insulin sensitizer. The primary endpoint is the initial virological response (level of HCV RNA in serum) as evaluated after 12 weeks of triple therapy.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Insulin resistance and diabetes are major disease modifiers in chronic hepatitis C, as they increase liver fibrogenesis and reduce the rate of response to antivirals. Regarding the latter, a previous study showed that a sustained virological response (SVR) occurred in about one third of patients with genotype 1 and insulin resistance (measured as homeostasis assessment of insulin resistance, HOMA-IR > 2) vs. two thirds of genotype 1 patients without insulin resistance. These findings were independently confirmed by other studies and extended to non-responders with genotypes 2, 3 and 4. Thus, we suggested that insulin resistance should be corrected in patients with chronic hepatitis C not responding to currently available antiviral treatment, in order to improve response to retreatment. The modalities of this intervention, however, have not been established. In addition, the optimal HOMA-IR score to be attained has not been identified. To assess this point, we planned a prospective, multicenter study to investigate the efficacy and safety of the insulin-sensitizer pioglitazone (ActosTM, Takeda Pharma AG, Lachen, Switzerland) 15 mg QD, added to the pegylated interferon-α2a (PEG-IFN-α2a) (PegasysTM, Roche Pharma Schweiz AG, Reinach, Switzerland) 180 μg QW/ribavirin (CopegusTM, Roche) 1000-1200 mg QD combination therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients who had previously failed to respond (i.e. had detectable serum HCV RNA after 12 weeks of therapy) to a pegylated interferon-α/ribavirin combination without the insulin-sensitizer. All patients had a baseline HOMA-IR score >2 as additional inclusion criterion, because this was the threshold discriminating responders from non-responders in previous works. Diabetic patients were excluded.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

5

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Switzerland
    • GE
      • Geneva, GE, Switzerland, 1211
        • Service de Gastroentérologie et d'Hépatologie, University Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologically confirmed chronic hepatitis C as per liver biopsy performed during the 12 months prior to enrollment (except patients with histologically proven cirrhosis or a Actitest/Fibrotest assay, or a Fibroscan performed during the 12 months prior to enrollment)
  • HCV RNA in serum >600 IU/ml
  • elevated ALT
  • HCV genotypes 1, 2, 3 or 4
  • failure to respond to a prior treatment with a pegylated interferon alpha + ribavirin
  • HOMA score > 2.00
  • documentation that sexually active female patients of childbearing potential are practicing adequate contraception (intrauterine device, oral contraceptives, progesterone implanted rods, medroxyprogesterone acetate, surgical sterilization plus a barrier method [diaphragm + spermicide] or monogamous relationship with a male partner who has had a vasectomy or is using a condom + spermicide) during the treatment period and for 6 months after discontinuation of therapy. A serum pregnancy test obtained at entry prior to the initiation of treatment must be negative. Female patients must not be breast feeding
  • documentation that sexually active male patients are practicing acceptable methods of contraception (vasectomy, use of a condom + spermicide, monogamous relationship with a female partner who practices an acceptable method of contraception) during the treatment period and for 6 months after discontinuation of therapy
  • willingness and capability to give written informed consent and to comply with the requirements of the trial

Exclusion Criteria:

  • history of diabetes (ADA definition)
  • history of significant cardiovascular disease (NYHA III) including but not limited to uncontrolled hypertension, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, coronary artery surgery and congestive heart failure
  • HBsAg and/or HIV
  • auto-immune disease, including auto-immune hepatitis
  • alcohol consumption exceeding 40 grams per day
  • hepatocellular carcinoma
  • renal insufficiency (serum creatinine levels above 200 micromol/l)
  • unconjugated bilirubin blood level > 100 micromol/l
  • glutamyl transferase > 20 times the ULN
  • prothrombin time < 60% of control (except in case of oral anti-coagulant therapy)
  • neutrophil count < 1.5 G/L
  • platelet count < 70 G/L
  • hemoglobin <120 g/L
  • organ or bone marrow transplantation
  • current neoplasm and/or anti-tumor chemotherapy
  • current hepatic arterial thrombosis
  • pregnant or breast feeding women; child bearing potential women without adequate contraception throughout the course of therapy
  • psychosis or anti-depressant therapy for uncontrolled clinical depression
  • epilepsy
  • clinically significant retinal abnormalities
  • thyroid dysfunction
  • drug abuse or substitution therapy during the 12 months prior to inclusion
  • interstitial pneumonitis
  • previous auto-immune hemolysis and all causes of chronic hemolysis

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention
Pioglitazone 15 mg QD + pegylated interferon Alfa-2a 180 μg QW + ribavirin 1000-1200 mg QD for 12 weeks, to be continued to a total of 48 weeks in case of complete early virological response, defined as undetectable serum HCV RNA after 12 weeks of triple therapy
Drug: Pioglitazone
Increase early virological response to pegylated interferon alpha plus ribavirin by increasing insulin sensitivity
Other Names:
  • Actos
Drug: Interferon Alfa-2a
Standard of care for chronic hepatitis C
Other Names:
  • Pegasys
Drug: Ribavirin
Standard of care for chronic hepatitis C
Other Names:
  • Copegus

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Early virological response
Time Frame: Week 12 of triple combined therapy
Week 12 of triple combined therapy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Undetectable serum HCV RNA after 4, 24 weeks and 48 weeks of therapy
Time Frame: Week 2, 24 and 48 of therapy
Week 2, 24 and 48 of therapy
Changes (vs. baseline) of body weight, HOMA score, after 4, 12 and 48 weeks of therapy and after 24 weeks of follow-up
Time Frame: Weeks 4, 12 and 48 of therapy
Weeks 4, 12 and 48 of therapy
Improvement (vs. baseline) of glucose tolerance parameters after 12 and 48 weeks of therapy and after 24 weeks of follow-up
Time Frame: Weeks 12 and 48 of therapy; week 24 of FU
Weeks 12 and 48 of therapy; week 24 of FU

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital, Geneva

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Francesco Negro, Prof, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

January 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 8, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 8, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

February 9, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 28, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 27, 2015

Last Verified

May 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GE-DMI-05-116

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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