Poop pills join the fight against advanced colon cancer
NCT ID NCT07509398
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) – transferring gut bacteria from a healthy donor – to standard chemotherapy can shrink tumors in people with advanced colorectal cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. About 220 adults will be randomly assigned to receive either standard therapy alone or standard therapy plus FMT. The main goal is to see if the combination leads to more tumor shrinkage and possibly makes the cancer operable.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2/3
Runs two stages together: whether the treatment works, then large-scale confirmation.
- Participants
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About 220 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Apr 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: * (1) Subjects must volunteer to participate in this study, sign the informed consent form (ICF), and demonstrate good compliance. (2) Patients aged 18 to 75 years (inclusive). (3) Meet the defined criteria for initially unresectable advanced metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) for this project. (4) Have not received first-line standard therapy. (5) Prior radiotherapy is permitted, provided it was completed more than 4 weeks prior to enrollment. (6) ECOG performance status of 0 to 1. (7) Life expectancy of ≥ 24 weeks. (8) Adequate major organ function meeting the following criteria (without the use of any blood components or cell growth factors within 2 weeks prior to enrollment): (9) Bone marrow function: Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1.5 × 10\^9/L, white blood cell (WBC) count ≥ 4.0 × 10\^9/L, platelets ≥ 100 × 10\^9/L, hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L. (10) Hepatic function: Serum total bilirubin (TBIL) ≤ 1.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN); if total bilirubin \> 1.5 × ULN, direct bilirubin must be ≤ ULN. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2.5 × ULN (allowed up to 5 × ULN for patients with liver metastases). (11) Renal function: Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) ≤ 1.5 × ULN (and creatinine clearance rate (CCr) ≥ 50 mL/min). (12) Cardiac function: Normal cardiac function with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50%. (13) Coagulation: International normalized ratio (INR) ≤ 1.5 × ULN, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ≤ 1.5 × ULN. (14) Male or female patients of childbearing potential must volunteer to use effective contraceptive methods (e.g., double-barrier methods, condoms, oral or injectable contraceptives, intrauterine devices) during the study and for 6 months after the last dose of study medication. All female patients are considered to be of childbearing potential unless they are naturally postmenopausal, artificially postmenopausal, or surgically sterilized (e.g., hysterectomy, bilateral oophorectomy, or pelvic irradiation). Otherwise, female patients must have a negative serum pregnancy test (within 7 days prior to study enrollment) and must not be lactating. Exclusion Criteria: * (1) Presence of symptoms such as bleeding, perforation, or obstruction at the primary tumor site. (2) Presence of secondary intracranial tumors (brain metastases). (3) History of severe autoimmune diseases: active inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis), rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune vasculitis (e.g., Wegener's granulomatosis), etc. (4) Symptomatic interstitial lung disease, or active infectious/non-infectious pneumonitis. (5) Risk factors for intestinal perforation: active diverticulitis, intra-abdominal abscess, gastrointestinal obstruction, or other known risk factors for intestinal perforation. (6) Patients who have undergone other surgeries must wait for complete wound healing before being considered for enrollment. (7) History of other malignancies; except for cured localized tumors, such as basal cell carcinoma of the skin, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, superficial bladder cancer, and carcinoma in situ of the prostate, cervix, or breast, which are permitted for enrollment. (8) Patients planning to undergo or who have previously undergone organ transplantation or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. (9) Moderate to severe ascites with clinical symptoms requiring therapeutic paracentesis or drainage, or a Child-Pugh score \> 2 (excluding cases with only a small amount of ascites shown on imaging without clinical symptoms); uncontrolled or moderate to large pleural or pericardial effusions. (10) History of gastrointestinal bleeding within 6 months prior to the start of study treatment or a clear tendency for gastrointestinal bleeding, such as esophageal/gastric varices with bleeding risk or severe varices, localized active gastrointestinal ulcer lesions, or persistently positive fecal occult blood (if fecal occult blood is positive at baseline, it can be retested; if still positive, an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is required. If EGD indicates esophageal/gastric varices with a risk of bleeding, the patient cannot be enrolled). (11) Occurrence of an abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, or intra-abdominal abscess within 6 months prior to the start of study treatment. (12) Patients who presented with signs/symptoms of incomplete obstruction/obstructive syndrome/ileus at initial diagnosis may be enrolled if the symptoms have completely resolved following definitive (surgical) treatment. (13) Known hereditary or acquired bleeding disorders (e.g., coagulopathy) or thrombotic tendency, such as hemophilia; current or recent (within 10 days prior to study treatment) use of full-dose oral or injectable anticoagulants or thrombolytic agents for therapeutic purposes (prophylactic use of low-dose aspirin or low molecular weight heparin is allowed). (14) Current or recent (within 10 days prior to study treatment) use of aspirin (\> 325 mg/day, maximum antiplatelet dose), dipyridamole, ticlopidine, clopidogrel (≥ 75 mg), or cilostazol. (15) Occurrence of thrombotic or embolic events within 6 months prior to the start of study treatment, such as cerebrovascular accidents (including transient ischemic attacks, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction), pulmonary embolism, etc. (16) Active infection, heart failure, myocardial infarction within 6 months, unstable angina, or unstable arrhythmias. (17) Lactating or pregnant women. (18) History of hepatic encephalopathy. (19) Use of immunosuppressants or systemic corticosteroids for immunosuppressive purposes (dose \> 10 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent) within 14 days prior to the start of study treatment. (20) Known severe allergic reaction to any monoclonal antibodies or anti-angiogenic targeted drugs. (21) Any other factors that, in the judgment of the investigator, may affect the study results or lead to premature termination of the study, such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, other severe diseases (including psychiatric disorders) requiring concomitant treatment, or severe laboratory abnormalities.
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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.
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The official record
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A doctor treating you
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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