Your gut bacteria might reveal hidden cancer risk
NCT ID NCT06738173
First seen Aug 13, 2026 · Last updated Aug 14, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study is looking at whether the mix of bacteria in the gut can serve as a warning sign for colorectal cancer and advanced polyps. Researchers will collect stool samples from people aged 50-74 who are part of a national screening program and have had a positive fecal immunochemical test (FIT). By analyzing the microbiome and comparing it with colonoscopy results, they aim to build a scoring tool that could one day make screening more accurate and less invasive.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Gut microbiome testing
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a non-invasive stool test that improves colorectal cancer screening, reducing unnecessary colonoscopies and catching more cancers early.
- What could go wrong
- The test is still in development and may not prove accurate enough to replace current methods. Also, the study is observational, so it can't prove cause and effect.
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.
- Participants
-
About 1,202 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Feb 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Sep 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.
Who is studied
Participants will be selected among those enrolled in the national colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program and among who refer to all centers involved in this study for screening colonoscopy. Patients with all inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria will be considered for this study. A total of 1202 patients will be enrolled, based on sample size calculation and including a validation group. N=911 patients will be needed, and we will add 91 patients to cover a 10% potential drop-out and 200 patients as a validation group (20% of the study cohort). Patients enrolled in this validation cohort will have the same exclusion and inclusion criteria of other patients and will undergo the same study procedures.
- Ages
-
50 to 74 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
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: * Patients participating in the national CRC screening program (50-74 years old) * Positivity to the FIT; * Ability to provide written informed consent and to be compliant with the study procedures. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients unfit for colonoscopy; * Other oncological conditions; * Concomitant severe comorbidities or gastrointestinal (GI) organic diseases (e.g. diverticular disease, inflammatory bowel disease); * Antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors or probiotics within 4 weeks prior to enrollment.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Advanced colorectal adenoma 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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
RECRUITINGRome, RM, 00168, Italy
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