Can a text message boost cancer screening rates?
NCT ID NCT06441487
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a mobile health tool called mPATH™-Cloud can help more people get screened for colorectal cancer. Over 1,000 patients from a community health center in North Carolina who are overdue for screening will either receive usual care or get a link to the tool, which helps them choose a screening test. The goal is to see if the digital approach leads to more completed screenings within six months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- mobile health decision support tool (mPATH™-Cloud)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could increase colorectal cancer screening rates in underserved communities, helping catch cancer early and save lives.
- What could go wrong
- This is a behavioral intervention study, not a drug trial. Success depends on patient engagement, and results may not apply to other settings or populations.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
1,062 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Jun 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Jan 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
45 to 73 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 45-73 years at time of enrollment * At average risk for CRC ("average risk" is defined as those subjects who do not have any of the following: documented history in the EHR of CRC, colonic adenomas, family history of CRC, or diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease) * No record in the EHR of fecal occult blood test (FOBT)/FIT within 12 months, FIT-DNA within 3 years, colonoscopy within 10 years, sigmoidoscopy within 5 years, barium enema within 5 years, or computed tomography (CT) colonography within 10 years of the EHR query date * No record in the EHR of any CRC diagnosis or total colectomy * Active patient of the clinic as documented in the EHR (seen at least 2 times within the past 12 months) * For the second and third study rounds only: No record of a positive (abnormal) CRC screening result in a previous study round Exclusion Criteria: * All individuals meeting any of the exclusion criteria at baseline will be excluded from study participation: * Age younger than 45 years or older than 73 years at the time of enrollment * Not at average risk for CRC ("average risk" is defined as those subjects who do not have any of the following: history with colorectal carcinoma, colonic adenomas, family history of colorectal carcinoma, or diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease) * Colorectal carcinoma screening in last 12 months Record in the electronic health record (HER) of fecal occult blood test (FOBT)/FIT within 12 months, FIT-DNA within 3 years, colonoscopy within 10 years, sigmoidoscopy within 5 years, barium enema within 5 years, or computed tomography (CT) colonography within 10 years of the EHR query date * Record in the EHR any CRC diagnosis or total colectomy * Not an active client of the clinic as documented in the EHR (not seen at least 2 times within the past 12 months) * For second and third annual study rounds only: Record of a positive (abnormal) CRC screening result in a previous study round
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Colorectal cancer are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Lineberger Comphrehensive Cancer Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States
-
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Gut bacteria may hold clues to why some cancer treatments work better
- Burning the edges: a new way to stop colon polyps from coming back
- Missed Follow-Up colonoscopies: do they raise the risk of advanced growths?
- A 2.2 mm scope could spot cancerous tissue in minutes, not days
- The gatekeepers of tumors: scientists probe how blood vessels let immune cells in
- New Antibody-Drug conjugate put to the test against Hard-to-Treat cancers