AzTrials
AzTrials

Cardiovascular DiseasesPhase 3NCT00000489

Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS)

A Phase 3 study testing coronary artery bypass in people with Cardiovascular Diseases and Coronary Disease, run by University of Washington.

Completed

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

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

To compare coronary artery surgery with medical management in patients with coronary artery disease and to maintain a registry on all patients undergoing coronary arteriography, whether operatively or medically managed. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 21 to 66 years
What is being tested?
coronary artery bypass
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
How many people
Not given
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Jun 1973to Dec 1996
Phase
Phase 3
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 21 to 66 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Men and women, under 67 years old. Ischemic heart disease.

About this study

To compare coronary artery surgery with medical management in patients with coronary artery disease and to maintain a registry on all patients undergoing coronary arteriography, whether operatively or medically managed.

Read the detailed description

BACKGROUND:

Although it was generally agreed that many patients with severe angina pectoris improved symptomatically after coronary artery surgery, there was less consensus concerning, for example, other effects of the procedure, such as its long-term benefit and the criteria for patient selection. In addition, there were fewer data and less agreement on the effects and proper role of this procedure in other clinical circumstances. Both the surgical procedure and the prior diagnostic procedures represented substantial costs in both monetary and manpower terms; moreover, they entailed morbidity and mortality risks.

There existed an urgent need for reliable and quantitative information regarding the effects of coronary artery surgery in patients with ischemic heart disease. To be meaningful, these data had to be set into the perspective of the clinical course of such patients under medical treatment.

This assessment presupposed a meaningful classification of these patients and of the therapeutic interventions as well as evaluations of the effects of surgical and medical regimens in terms of mortality, the quality of life, and objective hemodynamic and other physiological measurements. Only such information could provide sufficient background for determining the suitability of coronary artery surgery for a particular patient.

In 1972, the National Heart and Lung Advisory Council identified these questions as topics of high priority, and the National Heart and Lung Institute established an Ad Hoc Policy Advisory Board on Coronary Artery Surgery to assist it in developing a program of research activities. In its report, the Board noted a 'critical need for objective data on the long- and short-term effects of coronary artery surgery.' Requests for proposals were issued to carry out the recommendations of the Board.

Planning of the trial was conducted between June 1973 and April 1975 and included protocol design, the development of a manual of operations, and a pilot study of the registry. In August 1975, registry patients' entry and randomization began at the 11 clinical centers and coordinating center. Initial projections of patient population numbers were underestimated; therefore, five clinical centers were added to the trial in 1976.

The five clinical subgroups of patients in the randomized studies included: stable angina with normal resting left ventricular function; stable angina with impaired left ventricular function; post-myocardial infarction without angina; congestive heart failure due primarily to ischemic heart disease; and patients previously asymptomatic who were discovered to have serious coronary artery disease. All of the above subgroups must have met specifically outlined clinical and angiographic criteria to be placed in the randomized subset. The other two subsets (as distinguished from subgroups) of the study included those patients who were unsuitable for randomization because surgery was the treatment of choice in the judgment of many physicians and those patients for whom medical management was the treatment of choice. The patients enrolled in both the registry and randomized trial were followed for a 10-year period. This allowed evaluation of the primary endpoints, death and myocardial infarction, and the secondary endpoints, angina, status, and quality of life.

A total of 24,959 patients were entered into the registry; 780 patients were entered into the trial. Recruitment ended in 1979. Intervention ended in June 1983. Follow-up was extended for an additional five years to June 1989. Data analysis continued through May 1995 with grant support.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

Randomized, non-blind, sequential. Some 780 patients meeting the criteria of specific subsets based on history, physical exam, laboratory tests, catheterization, and angiography were randomized to either surgical or medical therapy. Primary endpoints included death and myocardial infarction.

Being tested
coronary artery bypass
Medical subject headings
Cardiovascular Diseases, Coronary Disease, Heart Diseases, Myocardial Ischemia

What participants receive

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

  • coronary artery bypassProcedure or surgery

Timeline

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

  1. First posted28 Oct 1999 (estimated)
  2. Study startJun 1973
  3. Study completionDec 1996

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 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00000489
Sponsor's protocol ID
8
Other IDs
R01HL038941
Status last verified
Dec 2005
First submitted
27 Oct 1999
Last updated
18 Feb 2016
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Foster ED, Fisher LD, Kaiser GC, Myers WO. Comparison of operative mortality and morbidity for initial and repeat coronary artery bypass grafting: The Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) registry experience. Ann Thorac Surg. 1984 Dec;38(6):563-70. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)62312-0.

    PubMed 6391399
  • Passamani E, Davis KB, Gillespie MJ, Killip T. A randomized trial of coronary artery bypass surgery. Survival of patients with a low ejection fraction. N Engl J Med. 1985 Jun 27;312(26):1665-71. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198506273122603.

    PubMed 3873614
  • Ryan TJ, Weiner DA, McCabe CH, Davis KB, Sheffield LT, Chaitman BR, Tristani FE, Fisher LD. Exercise testing in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study randomized population. Circulation. 1985 Dec;72(6 Pt 2):V31-8.

    PubMed 3905057
  • Killip T. The coronary artery surgery study (CASS)--a randomized trial and a registry. Z Kardiol. 1985;74 Suppl 6:79-85.

    PubMed 2869618
  • Myers WO, Davis K, Foster ED, Maynard C, Kaiser GC. Surgical survival in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) registry. Ann Thorac Surg. 1985 Sep;40(3):245-60. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)60037-9.

    PubMed 3876085
  • Davis KB, Fisher L, Gillespie MJ, Pettinger M. A test of the National Death Index using the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS). Control Clin Trials. 1985 Sep;6(3):179-91. doi: 10.1016/0197-2456(85)90001-7.

    PubMed 4042662
  • Bourassa MG, Fisher LD, Campeau L, Gillespie MJ, McConney M, Lesperance J. Long-term fate of bypass grafts: the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) and Montreal Heart Institute experiences. Circulation. 1985 Dec;72(6 Pt 2):V71-8.

    PubMed 3905060
  • Killip T, Passamani E, Davis K. Coronary artery surgery study (CASS): a randomized trial of coronary bypass surgery. Eight years follow-up and survival in patients with reduced ejection fraction. Circulation. 1985 Dec;72(6 Pt 2):V102-9.

    PubMed 3905050
  • Kaiser GC, Davis KB, Fisher LD, Myers WO, Foster ED, Passamani ER, Gillespie MJ. Survival following coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with severe angina pectoris (CASS). An observational study. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1985 Apr;89(4):513-24.

    PubMed 3884909
  • Gersh BJ, Kronmal RA, Schaff HV, Frye RL, Ryan TJ, Mock MB, Myers WO, Athearn MW, Gosselin AJ, Kaiser GC, et al. Comparison of coronary artery bypass surgery and medical therapy in patients 65 years of age or older. A nonrandomized study from the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) registry. N Engl J Med. 1985 Jul 25;313(4):217-24. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198507253130403.

    PubMed 3874368
  • Vlietstra RE, Kronmal RA, Oberman A, Frye RL, Killip T 3rd. Effect of cigarette smoking on survival of patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease. Report from the CASS registry. JAMA. 1986 Feb 28;255(8):1023-7.

    PubMed 3945013
  • Kemp HG, Kronmal RA, Vlietstra RE, Frye RL. Seven year survival of patients with normal or near normal coronary arteriograms: a CASS registry study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1986 Mar;7(3):479-83. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(86)80456-9.

    PubMed 3512658
  • Foster ED, Davis KB, Carpenter JA, Abele S, Fray D. Risk of noncardiac operation in patients with defined coronary disease: The Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS) registry experience. Ann Thorac Surg. 1986 Jan;41(1):42-50. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)64494-3.

    PubMed 3484621
  • Holmes DR Jr, Davis KB, Mock MB, Fisher LD, Gersh BJ, Killip T 3rd, Pettinger M. The effect of medical and surgical treatment on subsequent sudden cardiac death in patients with coronary artery disease: a report from the Coronary Artery Surgery Study. Circulation. 1986 Jun;73(6):1254-63. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.73.6.1254.

    PubMed 3486056
  • Maynard C, Fisher LD, Passamani ER, Pullum T. Blacks in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study: risk factors and coronary artery disease. Circulation. 1986 Jul;74(1):64-71. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.74.1.64.

    PubMed 3708780

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing coronary artery bypass in people with Cardiovascular Diseases and Coronary Disease, run by University of Washington.

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

Who may be eligible to take part?

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 18 Feb 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

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 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

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 NCT00000489, which also lists 104 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 18 Feb 2016.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in