Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in Children

Last updated: June 4, 2024
Sponsor: Arbor Research Collaborative for Health
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Liver Disorders

Connective Tissue Diseases

Treatment

N/A

Clinical Study ID

NCT04181138
PSC Study - ChiLDReN Network
2U24DK062456
  • Ages 2-25
  • All Genders

Study Summary

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare liver disease that damages the liver's bile ducts. Bile ducts are tiny tubes that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine. Bile is a liquid produced by the liver that helps us absorb and use the nutrients in the food we eat. In people with PSC, the bile backs up into the liver and will damage it, causing scarring of the liver.

The purposes of this study are to:

  • Collect medical and other data to learn more about PSC, how it progresses, and identify factors that may cause the disease to progress more quickly.

  • Ask questions about how PSC symptoms affect your child's life to learn more about its impact on your child's daily functioning

  • Children with PSC who are seen at one of the participating clinical sites in the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN) will be asked to contribute information, DNA, and other specimens. The information and specimens will be available to investigators to carry out approved research aimed at learning more about the possible causes and long-term effects of PSC.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients with the clinical diagnosis of large or small duct PSC made at any time prior to enrollment are screened for eligibility to participate in this prospective cohort study. The site PI will determine eligibility following review of MRCP or ERCP images with the site radiologist to confirm presence of an abnormal cholangiogram at the time of diagnosis of large duct PSC. Liver histopathology obtained at the time of diagnosis of small duct PSC will be reviewed with the site pathologist prior to enrollment.

Individuals must meet all of the Inclusion criteria in order to be eligible to participate in the study:

  1. Aged 2 through 25 years at time of screening.

  2. Diagnosis of large duct PSC based on review of cholangiogram by MRC, ERC, orintraoperative cholangiogram (IOC) by the site radiologist and interpreted to beconsistent with PSC, based on one or more of the following:

  • Focal structuring of the bile duct(s)

  • Dominant stricture of the common bile duct

  • Saccular dilatation of bile duct(s)

  • Beaded appearance of bile duct(s)

  • Pruning appearance of the distal bile duct branches AND/OR

  1. Diagnosis of small duct PSC based on review of liver histopathology by the sitepathologist and interpreted to be compatible with PSC:
  • Probable small duct PSC: biopsy with ≥3 of 5 criteria: periductal edema,concentric inflammation, bile duct injury, ductular reaction, and neutrophilsin bile ducts (cholangitis) OR...

  • Definitive small duct PSC: Periductal fibrosis/ "onion skinning" aroundinterlobular bile ducts or smaller profiles

  1. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for theduration of the study.

  2. Able to provide informed consent/assent

Participants for the imaging study are eligible if they are:

  1. Aged 8 through 25 years at the time of screening

  2. No absolute contraindication to MRI

  3. No skin condition that could be aggravated by MREL

  4. Meet all other eligibility criteria of the PSC Observational Study

  5. For whom none of the exclusion criteria apply

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

An individual who meets any of the following criteria at baseline will be excluded from participation in this study.

  1. History of liver transplantation

  2. History bone marrow transplantation

  3. History of primary or acquired immunodeficiency predisposing to secondary sclerosingcholangitis, for instance: hyper-IgM syndrome, severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) syndrome, common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) syndrome, cartilage hairhypoplasia syndrome, or HIV/AIDS

  4. History of histiocytosis, including Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), orhemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)

  5. History of ischemic cholangitis

  6. History of portal vein thrombosis with biliopathy, veno-occlusive disease, orabdominal radiation vasculopathy

  7. History of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis

  8. History of biliary tract surgery for cholecystolithiasis prior tocholangiogram/liver biopsy evaluated to determine enrollment

  9. History of biliary tract surgery for choledochal cyst

  10. History of hepatocellular carcinoma, or hepatoblastoma

  11. History of surgical biliary trauma

  12. History of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) hepatitis

  13. History of Sickle Cell Disease

  14. History of cystic fibrosis, biliary atresia, Caroli disease/congenital hepaticfibrosis, or progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3/MDR3 disease

  15. History of cardiac hepatopathy.

  16. History of metabolic disorders, including Wilson's disease, glycogen storagedisorder, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency

  17. Diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

  18. Concurrent pregnancy at the time of enrollment -

Study Design

Total Participants: 1000
Study Start date:
December 30, 2021
Estimated Completion Date:
May 31, 2029

Study Description

Pediatric primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare autoimmune biliary fibrosing disease that leads to significant morbidity, the need for liver transplantation in ~50% of patients, and an increased risk for biliary and colorectal cancers in adulthood. The progression of the biliary disease in children is variable and risk factors associated with a more rapid progression of disease have not been adequately studied. Importantly, pediatric hepatologists have never previously collaborated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialists to rigorously explore interactions between colonic inflammation and liver disease. New non-invasive imaging modalities to measure fibrosis have not been explored in pediatric PSC. Furthermore, the impact that PSC has on the global functioning of children is not well understood, and likely underappreciated.

The natural history of pediatric PSC is poorly understood. This study aims to determine risk factors, including activity of co-existent IBD, associated with more rapid progression of disease, characterize the impact of PSC on global functioning, define the spectrum and prognostic value of biliary tract disease and liver fibrosis based on novel imaging techniques, and establish a biobank of specimens for future mechanistic studies aimed at discovering biomarkers pertaining to etiology and severity of PSC and novel mechanisms of immunopathogenesis of disease. This comprehensive observational and longitudinal study will delineate unique aspects of the natural history and severity of pediatric PSC and of associated IBD and provide necessary data for future therapeutic trials. It aims to provide a platform to discover and validate circulating and imaging biomarkers, which may serve as surrogate endpoints in future interventional studies.

Connect with a study center

  • The Hospital for Sick Children

    Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8
    Canada

    Active - Recruiting

  • Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

    Los Angeles, California 90027
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • University of California at San Francisco (UCSF)

    San Francisco, California 94143
    United States

    Site Not Available

  • Children's Hospital Colorado

    Aurora, Colorado 80045
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

    Atlanta, Georgia 30322
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital

    Chicago, Illinois 60611
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • Riley Hospital for Children

    Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical

    Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • Texas Children's Hospital (Baylor College of Medicine)

    Houston, Texas 77030
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • The University of Utah

    Salt Lake City, Utah 84113
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

  • Seattle Children's Hospital

    Seattle, Washington 98105
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

Not the study for you?

Let us help you find the best match. Sign up as a volunteer and receive email notifications when clinical trials are posted in the medical category of interest to you.