NCT06183437RecruitingPhase 4
The STOP-MED CTRCD Trial
A Multi-Centre Non-Inferiority Randomized Controlled Trial of STOPping Cardiac MEDications in Patients With Normalized Cancer Therapy Related Cardiac Dysfunction: The STOP-MED CTRCD Trial
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 7 Jul 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) is when the heart's ability to pump oxygenated blood to the body is compromised. It is a side effect of cancer therapy which can occur as commonly as in 1 in 5 patients. When this occurs, heart failure medications are started to protect the heart from progressing to heart failure. With early detection and treatment, heart function recovers to normal in \>80% of patients. Unfortunately, heart failure medications are associated with an undesirable long-term pill burden, financial costs, and side-effects (e.g., dizziness and fatigue). As a result, cancer survivors frequently ask if they can safely stop their heart failure medications once their heart function has returned to normal. Currently there is no scientific evidence in this area of Cardio-Oncology. To address this knowledge gap, the investigators have designed a randomized control trial to assess the safety of stopping heart failure medication in patients with CTRCD and recovered heart function. The investigators will enrol patients who have completed their cancer therapy and are on heart medications for their CTRCD, which has now normalized. The investigators will randomize patients with no other reasons to continue heart failure medications (e.g., kidney disease) to continuing or stopping their heart medications safely. All patients will undergo a cardiac MRI at baseline, 1 and 5 years with safety assessments at 6-8 weeks, 6 months and 3 and 5 years. The investigators will determine if stopping medications is non-inferior to continuing medications by counting the numbers of patients who develop heart dysfunction by 1 year in each group.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Phase (registry)
- Phase 4
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 335 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 13 Dec 2023
- Start date
- 4 Mar 2024
- Primary completion date
- Dec 2027
- Lead sponsor
- Dinesh Thavendiranathan
- Diseases
- Heart failure
- NCT number
- NCT06183437
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional · Phase 4
- Planned participants: 335
- From 4 Mar 2024 to the primary completion date, Dec 2027
- 14 sites in 6 countries
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Prior history of major cardiovascular event (defined as myocardial infarction, cerebral vascular event, admission for HF) or therapeutic cardiovascular procedure (e.g., percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)).
Other illness
- Indication for continuation of HF medications i.e., ongoing HF symptoms, chronic kidney disease (CKD), vascular disease, atrial or ventricular arrythmias, other (note: participants with hypertension pre-CTRCD will continue their antihypertensive as only medication started for CTRCD will be ceased).
- Patients with cardiac devices i.e. defibrillator, CRT, pacemaker, etc.
- Continued use of loop diuretic therapy for heart failure purposes i.e., furosemide.
- Life expectancy \<1 year or metastatic disease.
Other
- Contraindications for CMR (e.g., MRI non-compatible implanted pacemakers).
- Issues that prevent communication, understanding or presentation for study-related visits and inability to provide informed consent.
Who the study is looking for
- Adult patients (age ≥18 years) with cancer therapy completed more than 6 months prior (other than hormonal therapy) and no plan for further cancer treatments with potential risk for CTRCD.
- Prior cancer therapy with anthracyclines and/ or HER2-targeted therapy.
- Prior asymptomatic, moderate to severe CTRCD, defined using the ESC/ICOS criteria (MODERATE: ≥10% drop in LVEF from baseline to 40% to 49.9% OR \<10% drop to 40-49.9% with a reduction in GLS by \>15% or new abnormal Troponin I/T or NT-proBNP or SEVERE: new LVEF reduction to \<40% from normal baseline LVEF), diagnosed within 1 year of completing potentially cardiotoxic cancer therapy.
- Current use of ≥1 HF medication started for CTRCD for at least 6 months with LVEF ≥50% by recently performed (≤6 months) echocardiogram, normal sex and age adjusted NT-proBNP or BNP ≤97.5th Centile, and no symptoms attributable to HF.
- Reference ranges for NT-proBNP and BNP by age and sex:
- \<30 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤196 pg/ml, BNP ≤55 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤104 pg/ml, BNP ≤29 pg/ml
- 30-39 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤209 pg/ml, BNP ≤59 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤102 pg/ml, BNP ≤29 pg/ml
- 40-49 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤233 pg/ml, BNP ≤65 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤137 pg/ml, BNP ≤38 pg/ml
- 50-59 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤299 pg/ml, BNP ≤84 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤195 pg/ml, BNP ≤55 pg/ml
- 60-69 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤399 pg/ml, BNP ≤112 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤333 pg/ml, BNP ≤93 pg/ml
- 70-79 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤743 pg/ml, BNP ≤208 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤763 pg/ml, BNP ≤214 pg/ml
- ≥80 years: Female: NT-proBNP ≤2,704 pg/ml, BNP ≤757 pg/ml Male: NT-proBNP ≤6,792 pg/ml, BNP ≤1,902 pg/ml
- Confirmation of LVEF ≥50% and normal volumes at baseline CMR (i.e., some patients recruited based on echocardiography, may be excluded if baseline CMR LVEF/volumes are not normal). This is included given that the primary outcome includes the use of CMR LVEF.
- Normal Ventricular end-diastolic volumes by CMR as defined by the Society of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance 2025 update.
Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (14)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Melbourne | Australia | Recruiting |
| Cardio-Oncology Clinic, MAHI, University of Alberta Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Edmonton | Canada | Recruiting |
| Hamilton General Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Hamilton | Canada | Not yet recruiting |
| University of Ottawa Heart Institute Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Ottawa | Canada | Recruiting |
| St. Michael's Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Toronto | Canada | Not yet recruiting |
| University Health Network Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Toronto | Canada | Recruiting |
| St. Boniface Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Winnipeg | Canada | Recruiting |
| La Paz University Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Madrid | Spain | Not yet recruiting |
| Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Liverpool | United Kingdom | Recruiting |
| Barts Health NHS Trust, University College London Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | London | United Kingdom | Recruiting |
| Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Brompton Hospital) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | London | United Kingdom | Not yet recruiting |
| Maria Sklodowska-Curie - National Research Institute of Oncology Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Warsaw | Poland | Not yet recruiting |
| Brigham and Women's Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Boston | United States | Recruiting |
| University of California, Los Angeles Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Los Angeles | United States | Not yet recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.