Could a simple nerve stimulator fix bowel leakage after rectal cancer surgery?
NCT ID NCT07632196
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a small nerve stimulator placed on the skin near the ankle can help people who have bowel leakage after rectal cancer surgery. Half of the 84 participants will use the active device at home, while the other half will use a sham device. Researchers will check bowel control, quality of life, and sexual function at 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Beurer EM-49 digital neurostimulator (transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a non-drug, at-home way to reduce bowel leakage and improve quality of life after rectal cancer surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 84 people. The treatment may not work better than a placebo, and results may not apply to everyone.
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 84 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
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 years and older
- 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: \- Adult patients diagnosed with rectal neoplasia and who have undergone a high anterior rectal resection regardless of the surgical approach (open, laparoscopic, laparoscopic+TaTME or robotic+TaTME). Exclusion Criteria: * Patients not operated or within active surveillance strategy programs (watch \& wait) * Patients with ostomy * Patients with contraindications to the use of the neurostimulator: * Pacemaker / Defibrillator / Other electronic devices * History of heart problems * Propensity to excessive bleeding (coagulopathies) * Damage to the nervous system (epilepsy) * Current pregnancy * Infections or skin lesions * Severe vascular disorders * Active neoplasms.
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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
2 sites. 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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Althaia Xarxa Assistencial Universitària de Manresa
RECRUITINGManresa, Barcelona, 08243, Spain
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Xarxa Assistencial Universitària de Manresa, Althaia
RECRUITINGManresa, Barcelona, 08243, Spain
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