Randomized Controlled Trial of Moderate-Intensity Rosuvastatin With Ezetimibe Combination Therapy Versus High-Intensity Rosuvastatin on Progression of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque (Rosuzet-IVUS)

The Effect of Moderate-intensity Rosuvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus High-intensity Rosuvastatin on Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque by Intravascular Ultrasound (ROSUZET-IVUS Trial)

The aim of this prospective, open-label, randomized, single center study is to compare the effect of usual dose rosuvastatin plus ezetimibe and high-dose rosuvastatin on modifying atherosclerotic plaque.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Coronary Artery Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Rosuvastatin 10 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg orally once a day; Drug: Rosuvastatin 20 mg orally once a day

Detailed Description

High-intensity statin therapy have shown improved clinical outcomes compared to placebo or moderate-intensity statin therapy. Based on these results, 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association(ACC/AHA) guideline on treatment of blood cholesterol to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk in adults recommended high-intensity statin therapy to patient with coronary artery disease for secondary prevention. However, high-intensity statin therapy was known to increase risk of diabetes mellitus and complication such as hepatotoxicity and myalgia. An alternative to high-intensity statin therapy is reducing the dose of statin and using drug that can improve blood cholesterol level by a different mechanism than statin. Ezetimibe acts on Niemann-Pick C1-like protein then inhibits cholesterol absorption in the intestine, which can reduce low-density lipoprotein(LDL) cholesterol more effectively when administered with statin. In IMPROVE-IT study, simvastatin plus ezetimibe decreased ischemic events more than simvastatin alone in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Although this study could confirm the additional effect of ezetimibe by using the same amount of simvastatin in both groups, it could not compare the effect of statin plus ezetimibe and high dose statin monotherapy. Moreover, there were few data on the efficacy of ezetimibe added to rosuvastatin which is one of the effective statin recommended by various guidelines. One study reported that rosuvastatin 2.5 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg was superior to rosuvastatin 5 mg monotherapy in reducing LDL cholesterol. Another study reported that adding rosuvastatin 5 mg to ezetimibe 10 mg was more effective than rosuvastatin 5 mg alone in reducing coronary atherosclerotic lesions as measured by intravascular ultrasound. However, the previous studies did not compare the efficacy of combination therapy of usual dose rosuvastatin and ezetimibe to high-dose statin monotherapy. Therefore, investigators aimed to compare the effect of rosuvastatin 10 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg to rosuvastatin 20 mg alone on the reduction of coronary atherosclerosis in patient with coronary artery disease. If this study shows that the combination of usual dose rosuvastatin and ezetimibe is not inferior to high dose rosuvastatin monotherapy in anti-atherosclerotic effect and safety, it would provide a basis for effective and safe cholesterol treatment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 280
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Korea, Republic of
  • Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 06351
    • Samsung Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subject must be at least 19 years of age
• Subject with suspected ischemic heart disease undergoing coronary angiography and have intermediate coronary artery stenosis (30-70% by visual estimation) whose revascularization was deferred based on invasive physiologic assessment using fractional flow reserve (>0.80) or intravascular ultrasound (minimum lumen area> 4mm2)
• Subject can verbally confirm understandings of risks, benefits and treatment alternatives of receiving statin or ezetimibe and he/she or his/her legally authorized representative provides written informed consent prior to any study related procedure.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subject has calculated creatinine clearance <30 mL/min or dialysis within 30 days.
• Subject has active liver disease or persistent unexplained serum transaminase elevations (x2 x upper limit of normal [ULN]).
• Subject requires the following concomitant medications: cyclosporine, danazol, niacin, fibrates as concomitant medications
• Subject requires any of the potent CYP3A4 inhibitors, itraconazole, ketoconazole, erythromycin, clarithromycin, and telithromycin, HIV protease inhibitors, nefazodone, probucol, resins, and any investigational drugs.
• Subject has an allergy/sensitivity to any statin, ezetimibe, and/or their excipients.
• Subject with history of myopathy or family history of myopathy
• Untreated hypothyroidism
• Subject has a history of alcohol and/or drug abuse.
• Subject is a pregnant or lactating woman, or woman intending to become pregnant.
• Non-cardiac co-morbid conditions are present with life expectancy <2 year or that may result in protocol non-compliance (per site investigator's medical judgment).

• Unwillingness or inability to comply with the procedures described in this protocol.

  • Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to treatment arms, stratified by diagnosis on admission(acute coronary syndrome or stable ischemic heart disease) and presence of chronic statin use (more than one month)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Rosuvastatin plus ezetimibe arm; In patients who have moderate stenosis(30-70%) in coronary artery and deferred to medical treatment by intracoronary physiologic or radiologic test, this arm will be received rosuvastatin 10 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg qd during 12 months after randomization.	Drug: Rosuvastatin 10 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg orally once a day; After the initial 12 months, randomized intervention will be stopped and then this arm will be received either usual dose rosuvastatin plus ezetimibe or high-dose rosuvastatin during the next 24 months by clinical judgement.; Other Names: Rosuzet tablet 10/10 mg
Active Comparator: High-dose rosuvastatin monotherapy arm; In patients who have moderate stenosis(30-70%) in coronary artery and deferred to medical treatment by intracoronary physiologic or radiologic test, this arm will be received rosuvastatin 20 mg qd during 12 months after randomization.	Drug: Rosuvastatin 20 mg orally once a day; After the initial 12 months, randomized intervention will be stopped and then this arm will be received either usual dose rosuvastatin plus ezetimibe or high-dose rosuvastatin during the next 24 months based by clinical judgement.; Other Names: Crestor tablet 20 mg

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in percent atheroma volume(PAV) in non-culprit lesions	PAV is calculated as the percentage of the sum of external elastic membrane(EEM) cross sectional areas(CSA) occupied by total atheroma volume(TAV). TAV was determined by summation of the plaque area, defined as the difference between EEM and lumen CSA, for all evaluable images. These values could be expressed as follows: TAV = ∑(EEM CSA - lumen CSA), PAV = 100 X ∑(EEM CSA - lumen CSA) / ∑EEM CSA	12 months after index coronary angiography(CAG)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in normalized TAV in non-culprit lesions	The TAV is normalized to the length corresponding to the median number of comparable slices for each treatment group in view of the variability in the length of pullback analyzed between subjects. This value could be expressed as follows: normalized TAV = [∑(EEM CSA - lumen CSA) / number of images in pullback] X median number of images in cohort	12 months after index CAG
Change in indexed TAV	Indexed TAV is calculated as TAV divided by the length of plaque in each subject. This value could be expressed as follows: Indexed TAV = ∑(EEM CSA - lumen CSA) / plaque length	12 months after index CAG
Change in fibrous cap thickness by OCT(optical coherence tomography)	In case that OCT is conducted	12 months after index CAG
Change in fractional flow reserve(FFR)	Physiologic index	12 months after index CAG
Change in coronary flow reserve(CFR)	Physiologic index	12 months after index CAG
Change in index of microcirculatory resistance(IMR)	Physiologic index	12 months after index CAG
Change in TAV in coronary computed tomography(CT) angiography	TAV which is measured in CT angiography	24 months after index CAG
Major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)	MACE is defined as a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke and revascularization.	12, 24 and 36 months after index CAG
Change in homeostatic model assessment(HOMA) index	HOMA index is a method used to quantify insulin resistance. This values could be calculated with fasting plasma glucose and insulin, as follows: HOMA index = glucose X insulin (mg/dL) / 405	6 months after index CAG
Change in fasting glucose	For risk of developing diabetes mellitus by statin therapy	6 and 12 months after index CAG
Change in hemoglobin A1c	For risk of developing diabetes mellitus by statin therapy	6 and 12 months after index CAG
Change in lipid profile	Fasting plasma triglyceride(TG), high-density lipoprotein(HDL), LDL and total cholesterol. These items will be compared separately, and described as a group of lipid profile.	1, 6 and 12 months after index CAG
Change in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP)	hs-CRP	1 and 12 months after index CAG
Safety endpoint: Number of participants with abnormal laboratory values and adverse events	Creatine kinase(CK) elevation > 10 times upper limit of normal(ULN); CK elevation > 10 times ULN on two consecutive visits; Hepatic transaminases > 3 times ULN; Hepatic transaminases > 3 times ULN on two consecutive visits; Document reason for discontinuation of study medication These items will be described together as a group of safety endpoint, such as number of participants with abnormal laboratory values and adverse events.	1 and 12 months after index CAG

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Samsung Medical Center
• Collaborators: Hanmi Pharmaceutical co., ltd.
• Investigators: Study Chair: Joo-Yong Hahn, MD, PhD, Samsung Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 12, 2017
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 28, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 24, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 26, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): May 30, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 16, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 13, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Atherosclerotic plaque; Rosuvastatin; Ezetimibe; Intravascular ultrasound
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Heart Diseases; Arteriosclerosis; Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Coronary Disease; Myocardial Ischemia; Coronary Artery Disease; Plaque, Atherosclerotic; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Enzyme Inhibitors; Antimetabolites; Anticholesteremic Agents; Hypolipidemic Agents; Lipid Regulating Agents; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Rosuvastatin Calcium; Ezetimibe
• Other Study ID Numbers: Rosuzet-IVUS16453143

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: After publication of first manuscript and trial results, the de-identified data will be shared by permission of principle investigator, when asked.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No