New tool could prevent unnecessary cancer screening in elderly
NCT ID NCT07141901
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study will test a tool that helps doctors decide whether colorectal cancer screening is appropriate for adults over 75 based on their life expectancy. Researchers will develop a life expectancy model and then give doctors alerts in the electronic health record. The goal is to reduce unnecessary screening in those with less than 10 years to live and increase screening in healthier older adults.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Decision tool (behavioral intervention)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors avoid unnecessary screening in older adults with short life expectancy and ensure appropriate screening for those who could benefit.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study testing a decision tool, not a treatment. It may not change doctor behavior or improve patient outcomes, and the life expectancy model may be inaccurate.
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
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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
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About 15,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2029
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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76 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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: * Aim 1a: Patients must meet all the inclusion criteria listed below to be included: * \> 75 years of age * Resident of Ohio * Had at least one Internal Medicine or Family Medicine visit at Cleveland Clinic Health System between January 1, 2007, and September 1, 2022. Aim 1b: Clinicians must meet all the inclusion criteria listed below to be included: * Internal Medicine or Family Medicine clinician (MD, DO, or APP) practicing at Cleveland Clinic Health System in Northeast Ohio * Saw ≥10 study-eligible patients, defined as patients aged \>75 years who were due or overdue for colorectal cancer screening, between 2024-2025 * With a colonoscopy ordering rate for patients \>75 years in either the top quarter of the distribution of all eligible clinicians or bottom quarter of all eligible clinicians Aim 2: Clinics must meet all the inclusion criteria listed below to be included: • Internal Medicine or Family Medicine clinical site included in the Cleveland Clinic Health System in Northeast Ohio or Florida Clinicians must meet all the inclusion criteria listed below to be included: * Currently practicing in Internal or Family Medicine as an attending clinician * Saw ≥10 study-eligible patients, defined as patients aged \>75 years who were due or overdue for colorectal cancer screening, between 2024-2025 Patients must meet all the inclusion criteria listed below to be included: * \>75 years of age * Have not received a colonoscopy in the prior 10 years * Have not received a FOBT/FIT in prior year * Had a visit in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine between January 1, 2026 and January 1, 2028 Exclusion Criteria: * All candidates meeting any of the exclusion criteria at baseline will be excluded from study participation. Aim 1a: * Patients aged ≤75 years * Patients who did not have at least one subsequent Internal or Family Medicine visit in Ohio within two years from the date of their baseline visit * Patients being actively treated for non-skin cancer Aim 1b: * Clinicians who are not in the top or bottom quarter of the distribution of colonoscopy orderers for patients aged \>75 years * Trainees/residents * Saw \<10 study-eligible patients between 2024-2025 Aim 2: * Patients aged \<75 years * Patients up to date with colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy within 10 years or FOBT/FIT/Cologuard within the past year)
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio, 44195, United States
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