SOCRATES

Preventative treatment for melanoma patients at risk of heart disease

For patients with melanoma, drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been proven an effective treatment option. Since their introduction into clinical practice, long term side-effects on the heart have increasingly been reported in some patients treated with ICIs. These side-effects include increased inflammation and cholesterol deposits in the heart blood vessels.

The SOCRATES clinical trial (Statins and prOgression of Coronary atheRosclerosis in melanomA patients Treated with chEckpoint inhibitorS), led by the Director of the Monash Victorian Heart Institute, Prof Stephen Nicholls, is looking to understand the build-up of cholesterol deposits, also referred to as atherosclerosis or plaque in the vessels of the heart, in melanoma patients treated with immunotherapy. As part of this clinical trial, images of the heart will be taken over time using Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography (CTCA).

The trial is being conducted at various hospital sites and clinics throughout Australia and aims to enrol 130 people nationally.

This research is funded by the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund and is sponsored and coordinated by Monash University, with assistance from Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials (MASC Trials).

MASC Trials has an academic affiliation with Monash University, with a dedicated centre supporting its research activities, the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research Centre, within the School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine.

SOCRATES Trial Team

  • Prof Stephen Nicholls (Study chair, Cardiologist, Director of Monash Heart and Victorian Heart Institute)
  • Prof Eva Segelov (Medical Oncologist, Director of Oncology, Monash Health)
  • Prof Mark Shackleton (Medical Oncologist, Director of Oncology, Alfred Health)
  • Prof Grant McArthur (Medical Oncologist, Head of Molecular Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre)
  • A/Prof Andrew Haydon (Medical Oncologist, Alfred Health)
  • Prof Sophia Zoungas (Head of School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University)
  • Prof Victoria Mar (Dermatologist, Director of the Victorian Melanoma Service)
  • A/Prof Nitesh Nerlekar (Cardiologist, Monash Health)
  • Prof Danny Liew (Clinical Epidemiologist, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide)
  • Dr Elizabeth Ahern (Medical Oncologist, Monash Health)
  • Mr Domenic Sacca (Operations management, Victorian Heart Institute)
  • Dr Sean Tan (Cardiologist, Project management, Victorian Heart Institute)
  • Mr Giuseppe Di Giovanni (Imaging Project Manager, SAHMRI)
  • Ms Katja Loewe (Site set-up and activation, MASC Trials)
  • Ms Louise Gonzales (Site set-up and activation, MASC Trials)

Trial Sites

Victoria

Queensland

Victorian Heart Health, Monash Health, Clayton

Cabrini Health, Malvern

Peninsula Health, Frankston

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Parkville

Mildura Base Public Hospital, Mildura

Ipswich Hospital, Ipswich

Toowoomba Hospital, Toowoomba City

Hervey Bay Hospital, Pialba

Bundaberg Base Hospital, Bundaberg Central

South Australia

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville South

New South Wales

Calvary Mater Newcastle, Waratah

Nepean Hospital, Kingswood

Contact and more information

SOCRATES News

To contact the SOCRATES clinical trial email socrates.study@monash.edu

SOCRATES clinical trial Registration ID: NCT05180942

For information on how to participate in a clinical trial, click here

5 June 2023
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