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Pulmonary SarcoidosisPhase 2NCT00001877

Treatment of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis With Pentoxifylline

A Phase 2 study testing Pentoxifylline in people with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, run by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Sarcoidosis is a disease most commonly affecting the lungs, but it can also involve lymph nodes, skin, liver, spleen, eyes, bones, and glands. The cause of the disease is unknown. When it occurs it can produce an inflammatory reaction leading to irreversible organ damage and disability. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Any age
Conditions the study is for
Pulmonary Sarcoidosis
What is being tested?
Pentoxifylline
How many people
100 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 1999to May 2004
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Any age
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Admission to this protocol will require a diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis with or without ocular sarcoidosis based on clinical history, and biopsy of either lung, intrathoracic or other lymph nodes, or internal organs consistent with sarcoidosis, with all other causes of granuloma ruled out. Prior to enrollment in the study, patients will have their biopsy slides reviewed by a pathologist for confirmation of the diagnosis.
  • Males or females between 18 and 70 years of age on corticosteroid therapy.

Who cannot join

  • Patients with active sarcoidosis of major organs other than the lungs and eyes (e.g., central nervous system, cardiac, renal) that require corticosteroid therapy.
  • Patients with uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes, history of cerebral or retinal hemorrhage, heart failure (New York class III or higher), renal failure (on dialysis), liver failure (with portal hypertension and ascites), cancer EXCEPT non-metastatic basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, hematologic disorders, including severe anemia (hemoglobin less than or equal to 7 g/dl), granulocytopenia, platelet disorders, or a need for anticoagulation therapy.
  • Patients with concomitant obstructive lung disease (i.e., asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis) or other interstitial lung diseases since changes in pulmonary function in such patients could not be attributed to sarcoidosis alone.
  • Patients who are pregnant or lactating.
  • Women of child-bearing potential without an accepted method of birth control.
  • Patients with a positive serum test for human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B or C virus.
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Patients incapable of giving informed consent.
  • Patients allergic to POF or methylxanthines such as caffeine, theophylline and theobromine.
  • Patients currently taking corticosteroids for disease other than pulmonary sarcoidosis, theophylline, POF, or other xanthines, or patients who have been on these drugs in the preceding three months.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

    Bethesda, Maryland, 20892

Other trials in United States

About this study

Sarcoidosis is a disease most commonly affecting the lungs, but it can also involve lymph nodes, skin, liver, spleen, eyes, bones, and glands. The cause of the disease is unknown. When it occurs it can produce an inflammatory reaction leading to irreversible organ damage and disability.

In sarcoidosis granulomas can form in various organs (primarily lung) which can lead to its dysfunction. Granuloma is formed by clusters of inflammatory cells. The formation of these granulomas is influenced by the release of a substance called TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor alpha) which is found in some white blood cells. A drug known as pentoxifylline (POF) is known to markedly reduce the release of TNF-alpha.

Read more

The standard medical treatment for sarcoidosis is steroid therapy. However, steroid therapy is associated with significant side effects and often must be stopped. Unfortunately, some of these patients can relapse when the steroid therapy is discontinued. Because of this, researchers are interested in finding alternative therapies for the treatment of sarcoidosis.

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of giving POF to patients with sarcoidosis currently taking steroids. Researchers will compare the results between patients taking steroids with pentoxifylline and those patients taking steroids alone.

Read the detailed description

Corticosteroids are currently the mainstay of therapy for active pulmonary sarcoidosis and are used to prevent relapses in many patients with stable disease. The pulmonary manifestations of sarcoidosis are heterogenous and not all patients require corticosteroid therapy. Corticosteroids often produce undesirable side effects and, therefore, other therapies that can reduce or replace corticosteroid use are being sought. As tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) plays a pivotal role in the formation of granulomata (the pathological hallmark of the disease), drugs that inhibit its production/release may prove effective in the treatment of this disease. Pentoxifylline (POF), a xanthine derivative used for many years in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease, is known to inhibit TNF-alpha release by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and alveolar macrophages from patients with active sarcoidosis. To evaluate whether this drug is beneficial in the treatment of sarcoidosis, we propose to conduct a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with POF in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis on corticosteroid therapy. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether POF treatment can be beneficial as an adjunct to corticosteroid therapy in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. The role of TNF-alpha and other cytokines (released from alveolar macrophages) in explaining treatment responses defined by whether or not a patient improved will be assessed by testing whether the effect of treatment on the probability of improvement varies with cytokine levels.

Being tested
Pentoxifylline
Keywords
Tumor Necrosis Factor, Corticosteroids, Macrophages, Phosphodiesterase, Autoimmune, Pulmonary Sarcoidosis
Medical subject headings
Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • PentoxifyllineDrug

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted4 Nov 1999 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 1999
  3. Study completionMay 2004

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Enrolment
100 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00001877
Sponsor's protocol ID
990057
Other IDs
99-H-0057
Status last verified
May 2004
First submitted
3 Nov 1999
Last updated
4 Mar 2008
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Zabel P, Entzian P, Dalhoff K, Schlaak M. Pentoxifylline in treatment of sarcoidosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1997 May;155(5):1665-9. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.155.5.9154873.

    PubMed 9154873
  • Marques LJ, Zheng L, Poulakis N, Guzman J, Costabel U. Pentoxifylline inhibits TNF-alpha production from human alveolar macrophages. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999 Feb;159(2):508-11. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.159.2.9804085.

    PubMed 9927365
  • Chesnutt AN. Enigmas in sarcoidosis. West J Med. 1995 Jun;162(6):519-26.

    PubMed 7618312

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing Pentoxifylline in people with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, run by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 9 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Mar 2008. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00001877, which also lists 3 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Mar 2008.

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