Intermittent or Continuous Acetylsalicylic Acid and Gene Expression in the Nasal Tissue of Current Smokers

The Effect of Intermittent Versus Continuous Dose Aspirin (ASA) on Nasal Epithelium Gene Expression in Current Smokers

This randomized phase II trial studies the safety and effects of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) taken continuously or intermittently on gene expression in the nasal tissue of current smokers. Smokers are at increased risk of developing lung cancer. Acetylsalicylic acid may be useful in preventing lung cancer.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tobacco Use Disorder; Lung Carcinoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Drug: Aspirin; Other: Placebo

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To analyze the impact of a 12-week intervention of intermittent and continuous acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on a smoking-related gene expression signature in the nasal epithelium of current smokers and to analyze any difference between the intermittent and continuous ASA interventions.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine whether the change in the smoking-related gene expression signature of nasal epithelium persists one week off agent intervention.

II. To compare the change in urinary prostaglandin E metabolite (PGE-M) and leukotriene E (4) (LTE [4]) between the continuous and intermittent dosing arms and to determine whether the change persists one week off agent intervention.

III. To analyze the impact of intermittent and continuous ASA on a three lung cancer-related gene signatures (an 80-gene signature, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase [PI3K] gene signature, and a nasal epithelium cancer signature) in the nasal epithelium and to analyze any difference between the intermittent and continuous ASA interventions.

IV. To determine whether the change, if any, in the lung cancer-related gene expression signatures of nasal epithelium persists one week off agent intervention.

V. To compare the safety in current smokers of 12 week exposure to continuous versus intermittent ASA.

VI. To evaluate a gender effect in the modulatory effects of intermittent and continuous ASA on smoking-related gene expression signature.

VII. To explore in a discovery-driven fashion the effect of ASA intervention on whole-genome gene expression.

VIII. To analyze the impact of intermittent and continuous ASA on karyometric analysis of buccal cells and to analyze any difference between intermittent and continuous ASA interventions.

OUTLINE: Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

ARM I (CONTINUOUS): Participants receive aspirin orally (PO) once daily (QD) for 12 weeks.

ARM II (INTERMITTENT): Participants receive placebo PO QD during weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 and aspirin PO QD during weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.

After completion of study treatment, participants are followed up for 2 weeks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 54
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Arizona
    • Tucson, Arizona, United States, 85724
      • The University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02118
      • Boston University School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

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:

• Male or female current tobacco smokers with >= 20 pack years of self-reported smoking exposure and an average use of >= 10 cigarettes/day
• Karnofsky >= 70%
• Leukocytes >= 3,000/microliter
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/microliter
• Hematocrit within normal institutional limits
• Platelets within normal institutional limits
• Total bilirubin =< 1.5 × institutional upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) =< 1.5 × institutional ULN
• Creatinine =< the upper institutional limits
• Prothrombin time (PT)/partial thromboplastin time (PTT) within normal institutional limits
• Fertile subjects must use adequate contraception (abstinence, barrier methods, or birth control pills) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation
• Participants may have a history of indeterminate pulmonary nodule(s) by chest imaging if nodule follow-up has been completed or the study procedures would not interfere with nodule follow-up
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of allergic reaction to aspirin or attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to aspirin, including other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Gastric intolerance attributable to ASA or NSAIDs
• History of gastric ulcer within the past 5 years (with or without bleeding)
• Use of ASA or NSAIDs for more than 5 days per month within 3 months of enrollment
• Not willing or are unable to refrain from use of any non-study ASA or NSAIDs during the study period
• Adult asthma
• Chronic, current or recent (within the past three months) use of leukotriene antagonists
• Require chronic anticoagulation or anti-platelet therapy
• History of bleeding disorder or hemorrhagic stroke
• Chronic, current or recent (within the past three months) use of glucocorticoids (systemic, topical and/or nasal sprays)
• History of chronic sinusitis or recent nasal polyps
• Not willing or are unable to limit alcohol consumption to =< 2 alcoholic beverages a day during the study period
• Pregnant or lactating women; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with aspirin; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her study physician immediately
• Participants may not be receiving any other investigational agents
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• Have a known history of inability to absorb an oral agent
• Invasive cancer within the past five years except non-melanoma skin cancer
• Urine cotinine level, if collected at screening, does not confirm active smoking status

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm I (continuous aspirin); Participants receive aspirin PO QD for 12 weeks.	Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Correlative studies; Drug: Aspirin; Given PO; Other Names: Acetylsalicylic Acid; ASA; Aspergum; Ecotrin; Empirin; Entericin; Extren; Measurin
Experimental: Arm II (intermittent aspirin); Participants receive placebo PO QD during weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 and aspirin PO QD during weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.	Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis; Correlative studies; Drug: Aspirin; Given PO; Other Names: Acetylsalicylic Acid; ASA; Aspergum; Ecotrin; Empirin; Entericin; Extren; Measurin; Other: Placebo; Given PO; Other Names: placebo therapy; PLCB; sham therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Smoking-related Gene Expression Signature Score in Nasal Epithelium	Change in nasal smoking-related gene expression signature score derived from prior research was compared between the two study arms. Prior research showed that a higher score was observed in never smokers compared to current smokers. An increased score implicated a more favorable intervention effect. There is no minimum or maximum score.	Baseline to 12 weeks (End-of-Intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in Urine Leukotriene E4 (LTE(4)) Levels	Urinary LTE(4) was used as a biomarker 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) mediated arachidonic acid metabolism. Decreased LTE4 implicated inhibition of the 5-LOX mediated pathway.	Baseline to 12 weeks (End-of-Intervention)
Changes in Urine Prostaglandin E2 Metabolite (PGE-M) Levels	Urinary PGE-M was used as a biomarker of cyclooxygenase (COX) mediated arachidonic acid metabolism. Decreased PGE-M implicated inhibition of COX mediated pathway.	Baseline to 12 weeks (End-of-Intervention)
Number of Participants Experiencing Possibly/Probably/Definitely-related Adverse Events		Up to 2 weeks post-treatment
Gender Effect on Smoking-related Gene Expression Signature Score	Change in nasal smoking-related gene expression signature score was compared between male and female participants. The gender comparison was not stratified by arm because of the small sample size. Prior research showed that a higher score was observed in never smokers compared to current smokers. An increased score implicated a more favorable intervention effect. There is no minimum or maximum score.	Baseline to 12 weeks (End-of-Intervention)
Changes in Lung Cancer-related Gene Expression Signature Score in the Nasal Epithelium	Change in lung cancer-related gene expression signature score derived from prior research was compared between the two study arms. Prior research showed that the score was higher in lung cancer cases than healthy controls. A decreased score implicated a more favorable intervention effect. There is no minimum or maximum score.	Baseline to 12 weeks (End-of-Intervention)
Persistence of the Change in the Lung Cancer-related Gene Expression Signature Score in the Nasal Epithelium One Week Off Agent Intervention	Change in the lung cancer-related gene expression signature score from baseline to one week off agent intervention was compared between the two study arms. Prior research showed that higher scores were observed in lung cancer cases than healthy controls. A decreased score implicated a favorable intervention effect. There is no minimum or maximum score.	Baseline to 1 week post-intervention
Persistence of the Change in the Smoking-related Gene Expression Signature Score in the Nasal Epithelium One Week Off Agent Intervention	Change in nasal smoking-related gene expression signature score from baseline to 1 week post-intervention was compared between the two study arms. Prior research showed that a higher score was observed in never smokers compared to current smokers. An increased score implicated a more favorable intervention effect. There is no minimum or maximum score.	Baseline to 1 week post-intervention
Whole-genome Gene Expression - Number of Canonical Pathways Differentially Expressed	Gene set enrichment analysis was performed on the MSigDB canonical pathways with the intent to discover differentially expressed genes after aspirin intervention.	Baseline to 12 weeks
Change in Buccal Cells Via Karyometric Analysis		Baseline to up to one week post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Linda Garland, The University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 24, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 24, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 28, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 29, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 31, 2018
• Last Verified: July 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Tobacco Use Disorder; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Enzyme Inhibitors; Analgesics; Sensory System Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antirheumatic Agents; Fibrinolytic Agents; Fibrin Modulating Agents; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; Antipyretics; Aspirin
• Other Study ID Numbers: NCI-2014-01006 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); P30CA023074 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); HHSN2612012000311; N01-CN-2012-00031; N01CN00031 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); 1300000502 (Other Identifier: The University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus); UAZ2013-01-01 (Other Identifier: DCP)