Clinical trial NCT00125593: Study of Heart and Renal Protection
Official title: Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP): The Effects of Lowering LDL-cholesterol With Simvastatin 20mg Plus Ezetimibe 10mg in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: a Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Kidney Disease, Chronic
Keywords: Kidney Disease, Chronic
LDL cholesterol
simvastatin
ezetimibe
cardiovascular disease
atherosclerosis
Lead sponsor: University of Oxford
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
name: Schering-Plough
name: National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia
name: British Heart Foundation
name: Medical Research Council
First posted: 2005-08-01
Enrollment: 9438
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 40
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The chief aim of SHARP was to determine whether lowering blood LDL cholesterol with simvastatin (20mg) plus ezetimibe (10mg) daily could safely reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, non-hemorrhagic stroke and the need for revascularization procedures in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). It also aimed to assess whether lowering LDL cholesterol reduced the rate of loss of renal function in people with CKD who had not commenced dialysis treatment.

Detailed description: The SHARP (Study of Heart and Renal Protection) was a double-blind placebo-controlled trial which aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of reducing LDL cholesterol in more than 9,000 patients with chronic kidney disease (about 3,000 of whom were on dialysis at randomization).

Patients were randomly assigned to simvastatin 20 mg plus ezetimibe 10 mg daily versus matching placebo (a subset of these patients had previously received simvastatin 20mg only and were then randomly re-assigned to receive simvastatin 20mg plus ezetimibe 10mg or placebo at one year). Details of the SHARP trial design and methods have been reported previously (reference: Am Heart J 2010; 160:785-94.).

SHARP was overseen by an independent Steering Committee that included nephrologists, cardiologists, clinical trialists, and statisticians, with 2 non-voting observers from the main funder (Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals). The independent sponsor was the University of Oxford, and the trial was funded by Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the UK Medical Research Council.

In October 2009, the Steering Committee decided (blind to the effects of study treatment on clinical outcomes) to change the original protocol-specified primary outcome to a revised key outcome of major atherosclerotic events, defined as the combination of non-fatal myocardial infarction, coronary death, ischemic stroke, or any revascularization procedure (i.e. exclusion of non-coronary cardiac deaths and strokes confirmed to be hemorrhagic from the original major vascular event outcome). These and other changes are described in the revised statistical analysis plan for SHARP (reference: Am Heart J 2010; 160:785-94.). Accordingly, the chief emphasis of the published results (reference: Lancet 2011; 377:2181-92) is on the revised pre-specified key outcome of first major atherosclerotic events.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* History of chronic kidney disease (CKD): either patients who are pre-dialysis (with a plasma or serum creatinine greater than or equal to 150 micromol/l \[greater than or equal to 1.7 mg/dl\] in men, or greater than or equal to 130 micromol/l \[greater than or equal to 1.5 mg/dl\] in women); or patients on dialysis (hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis)
* Men or women aged greater than or equal to 40 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* Definite history of myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization procedure
* Functioning renal transplant, or living donor-related transplant planned
* Less than 2 months since presentation as an acute uraemic emergency (but could be entered later, if appropriate)
* Definite history of chronic liver disease, or abnormal liver function (i.e. alanine aminotransferase \[ALT\] greater than 1.5 x upper limit of normal \[ULN\] or, if ALT not available, aspartate aminotransferase \[AST\] greater than 1.5 x ULN). (Note: Patients with a history of hepatitis were eligible provided these limits were not exceeded.)
* Evidence of active inflammatory muscle disease (e.g. dermatomyositis, polymyositis), or creatine kinase (CK) greater than 3 x ULN
* Definite previous adverse reaction to a statin or to ezetimibe
* Concurrent treatment with a contraindicated drug. (Note: Patients who were temporarily taking such drugs could have been re-screened for participation in the study when they discontinued them, if appropriate.) These contraindicated drugs included: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor ("statin"); fibric acid derivative ("fibrate"); nicotinic acid; macrolide antibiotic (erythromycin, clarithromycin); systemic use of imidazole or triazole antifungals (e.g. itraconazole, ketoconazole); protease-inhibitors (e.g. antiretroviral drugs for HIV infection); nefazodone; ciclosporin
* Child-bearing potential (i.e. premenopausal woman who was not using a reliable method of contraception)
* Known to be poorly compliant with clinic visits or prescribed medication
* Medical history that might have limited the individual's ability to take trial treatments for the duration of the study (e.g. severe respiratory disease, history of cancer other than non-melanoma skin cancer, or recent history of alcohol or substance misuse)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Key Outcome as Per Statistical Analysis Plan = Major Atherosclerotic Events Among All Patients Ever Randomized to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus All Patients Allocated to Placebo
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Major Vascular Events Analyzed Among All Patients Ever Randomized to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus All Patients Allocated to Placebo
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
measure: Major Vascular Events Analyzed Amongst Patients Initially Randomized to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus Placebo (Original Protocol-defined Primary Outcome)
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
measure: Major Coronary Events Among All Patients Ever Randomized to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus All Patients Allocated to Placebo
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
measure: Non-hemorrhagic Stroke Among All of Patients Ever Randomized to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus All Patients Allocated to Placebo
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
measure: Coronary or Non-coronary Revascularization Among All Patients Ever Randomized to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus All Patients Allocated to Placebo
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
measure: End-stage Renal Disease Among All Patients Not on Dialysis at the Time of Randomization to Simvastatin Plus Ezetimibe Versus Placebo
timeFrame: Median follow-up 4.9 years
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Oxford
country: United Kingdom
facility: Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit, University of Oxford
Study officials:
affiliation: Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit, University of Oxford
name: Colin Baigent, FRCP, FFPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit, University of Oxford
name: Martin J Landray, PhD, FRCP
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Baigent C, Landray M, Leaper C, Altmann P, Armitage J, Baxter A, Cairns HS, Collins R, Foley RN, Frighi V, Kourellias K, Ratcliffe PJ, Rogerson M, Scoble JE, Tomson CR, Warwick G, Wheeler DC. First United Kingdom Heart and Renal Protection (UK-HARP-I) study: biochemical efficacy and safety of simvastatin and safety of low-dose aspirin in chronic kidney disease. Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Mar;45(3):473-84. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2004.11.015.
citation: Landray M, Baigent C, Leaper C, Adu D, Altmann P, Armitage J, Ball S, Baxter A, Blackwell L, Cairns HS, Carr S, Collins R, Kourellias K, Rogerson M, Scoble JE, Tomson CR, Warwick G, Wheeler DC. The second United Kingdom Heart and Renal Protection (UK-HARP-II) Study: a randomized controlled study of the biochemical safety and efficacy of adding ezetimibe to simvastatin as initial therapy among patients with CKD. Am J Kidney Dis. 2006 Mar;47(3):385-95. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2005.11.018.
citation: Sharp Collaborative Group. Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP): randomized trial to assess the effects of lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol among 9,438 patients with chronic kidney disease. Am Heart J. 2010 Nov;160(5):785-794.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2010.08.012. Epub 2010 Sep 18.
citation: Baigent C, Landray MJ, Reith C, Emberson J, Wheeler DC, Tomson C, Wanner C, Krane V, Cass A, Craig J, Neal B, Jiang L, Hooi LS, Levin A, Agodoa L, Gaziano M, Kasiske B, Walker R, Massy ZA, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Krairittichai U, Ophascharoensuk V, Fellstrom B, Holdaas H, Tesar V, Wiecek A, Grobbee D, de Zeeuw D, Gronhagen-Riska C, Dasgupta T, Lewis D, Herrington W, Mafham M, Majoni W, Wallendszus K, Grimm R, Pedersen T, Tobert J, Armitage J, Baxter A, Bray C, Chen Y, Chen Z, Hill M, Knott C, Parish S, Simpson D, Sleight P, Young A, Collins R; SHARP Investigators. The effects of lowering LDL cholesterol with simvastatin plus ezetimibe in patients with chronic kidney disease (Study of Heart and Renal Protection): a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2011 Jun 25;377(9784):2181-92. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60739-3. Epub 2011 Jun 12.
citation: Sukkar L, Talbot B, Jun M, Dempsey E, Walker R, Hooi L, Cass A, Jardine M, Gallagher M. Protocol for the Study of Heart and Renal Protection-Extended Review: Additional 5-Year Follow-up of the Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian SHARP Cohort. Can J Kidney Health Dis. 2019 Oct 14;6:2054358119879896. doi: 10.1177/2054358119879896. eCollection 2019.
citation: Schlackow I, Kent S, Herrington W, Emberson J, Haynes R, Reith C, Collins R, Landray MJ, Gray A, Baigent C, Mihaylova B; SHARP Collaborative Group. Cost-effectiveness of lipid lowering with statins and ezetimibe in chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int. 2019 Jul;96(1):170-179. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2019.01.028. Epub 2019 Mar 12.
citation: Schlackow I, Kent S, Herrington W, Emberson J, Haynes R, Reith C, Wanner C, Fellstrom B, Gray A, Landray MJ, Baigent C, Mihaylova B; SHARP Collaborative Group. A policy model of cardiovascular disease in moderate-to-advanced chronic kidney disease. Heart. 2017 Dec;103(23):1880-1890. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2016-310970. Epub 2017 Aug 5.
citation: Reith C, Staplin N, Herrington WG, Stevens W, Emberson J, Haynes R, Mafham M, Armitage J, Cass A, Craig JC, Jiang L, Pedersen T, Baigent C, Landray MJ; SHARP Collaborative Group. Effect on non-vascular outcomes of lowering LDL cholesterol in patients with chronic kidney disease: results from the Study of Heart and Renal Protection. BMC Nephrol. 2017 May 1;18(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s12882-017-0545-2.
citation: Herrington W, Staplin N, Judge PK, Mafham M, Emberson J, Haynes R, Wheeler DC, Walker R, Tomson C, Agodoa L, Wiecek A, Lewington S, Reith CA, Landray MJ, Baigent C; SHARP Collaborative Group. Evidence for Reverse Causality in the Association Between Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease. Hypertension. 2017 Feb;69(2):314-322. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.08386. Epub 2016 Dec 27.
citation: Morton RL, Schlackow I, Staplin N, Gray A, Cass A, Haynes R, Emberson J, Herrington W, Landray MJ, Baigent C, Mihaylova B; SHARP Collaborative Group. Impact of Educational Attainment on Health Outcomes in Moderate to Severe CKD. Am J Kidney Dis. 2016 Jan;67(1):31-9. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2015.07.021. Epub 2015 Sep 16.
citation: Peto R, Emberson J, Landray M, Baigent C, Collins R, Clare R, Califf R. Analyses of cancer data from three ezetimibe trials. N Engl J Med. 2008 Sep 25;359(13):1357-66. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa0806603. Epub 2008 Sep 2.