The Effect of Dexmedetomidine of the Immune System

January 5, 2016 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

The Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Immunological Parameters of Women Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery

The goal of this research study is to learn about how dexmedetomidine (a standard of care sedative) affects your immune system (your defenses against cancer) by measuring your white blood cell levels before and after surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Dexmedetomidine is a type of sedative used as part of anesthetic care. It is sometimes used to help lower the amount of pain killers and other anesthetics that are given to a patient during surgery. Researchers want to study how this drug works in cancer patients and review the patient's chart for pain levels and medication use after surgery. Part of this research involves studying the immune system of surgery patients.

If you agree to take part in this study, blood (about 1 tablespoon) will be drawn before you have surgery and the morning after surgery while you are still in the hospital. This blood will be used to learn more about how your immune system works.

After your second blood draw, your participation in this study will be over.

This is an investigational study.

Up to 20 participants will be enrolled in this study. All will take part at MD Anderson.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

20

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

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

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

Female

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Women undergoing unilateral mastectomy for malignancy at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

3.1.1 - Women undergoing unilateral mastectomy for malignancy at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

3.1.2 - Patients 18 years of age and older. There will be no upper age restriction.

3.1.3 - Patients must sign a study-specific consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

3.2.1 - ASA 4

3.2.2 - Contraindication to the use of dexmedetomidine.

3.2.2.1. Decompensated congestive heart failure.

3.2.2.2. Second and third degree heart block.

3.2.2.2. Known allergy to dexmedetomidine or any of the medications used in the study

3.2.3 - Patients taking clonidine for treatment of arterial hypertension.

3.2.4 - Patients that are pregnant.

3.2.5 - Patients taking opioids at the time of surgery.

3.2.6 - Patients having plastic surgical reconstruction.

3.2.7 - Recent chemotherapy (< 4 weeks).

3.2.8 - Active autoimmune or immunological disease including but not limited to systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's disease

3.2.9 - Patient refusal to participate in the study.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Blood Draw Pre and Post Surgery
Patients within the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center who are scheduled for breast cancer surgery.
Drug: Dexmedetomidine
After induction of general anesthesia, a loading dose of dexmedetomidine (1 mcg/kg) given in 15 min followed by an infusion of the same medication at a rate of 0.4 - 0.7 mcg/kg/hour.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pre and Post Surgical Lymphocyte Counts
Time Frame: 2 days
Lymphocyte counts determined by flow-cytometry and their function by cytotoxicity assays performed in the laboratory using samples obtained before and the morning after surgery. Patients who experience a reduction of less than 50% of their preoperative natural killer cell (NKC) activity considered as a success.
2 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Collaborators

Hospira, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Juan P. Cata, MD, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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

September 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 19, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 24, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

September 25, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 7, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 5, 2016

Last Verified

January 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PA12-0524

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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