Nipple fluid DNA test could spare thousands from unnecessary breast surgery
NCT ID NCT07250204
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a new, gentle method to analyze DNA from nipple discharge to tell if it's cancer or a harmless condition. About 60 adults with bloody nipple discharge will provide a fluid sample before their planned surgery. Researchers will compare the test results with surgical findings to see if the test can accurately identify cancers and avoid unnecessary operations.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
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.
Who is studied
Prospective, single-center consecutive series at Hubei Cancer Hospital. Adults presenting with spontaneous, unilateral, single-duct bloody/serosanguinous nipple discharge and scheduled for diagnostic surgery/biopsy will undergo preoperative nipple-discharge collection for low-coverage whole-genome sequencing and methylome profiling. Postoperative pathology serves as the gold standard to classify benign vs malignant lesions. Enrollment is not restricted by gender identity; individuals with relevant breast anatomy who meet criteria may be included. Excludes physiologic discharge, infection, prior treated breast cancer, pregnancy/lactation, recent duct manipulation, and unsafe sampling conditions. Target sample size ≈30; no healthy volunteers.
- 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: 1. Age ≥18 years. 2. Spontaneous, unilateral, single-duct pathologic nipple discharge, predominantly bloody or serosanguinous, raising clinical suspicion of intraductal disease. 3. Planned diagnostic breast surgery/biopsy after specialist assessment (e.g., duct excision/microdochectomy, lumpectomy); patients who had ductoscopy but are still scheduled for surgery remain eligible. 4. Study sampling (nipple discharge and one peripheral blood tube) feasible before surgery/invasive diagnostics without delaying standard care. 5. Able and willing to provide written informed consent and allow access to surgical pathology and relevant clinical data. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Physiologic or non-pathologic discharge (typically bilateral, multiduct, expressible only with manipulation; milky/clear/green) or galactorrhea due to endocrine/drug causes. 2. Active breast infection/inflammatory disease (e.g., abscess) as the source of discharge. 3. Prior diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer (surgery/radiation/systemic therapy). 4. Recent invasive ductal manipulation likely to confound analysis (e.g., ductoscopy, duct cannulation/irrigation), per investigator judgment. 5. Pregnant or lactating patients. 6. Significant hematologic disease/coagulopathy precluding safe sampling. 7. Inability to complete preoperative study sampling, refusal/withdrawal of consent, or poor compliance. 8. Any condition judged by investigators to compromise sample quality, data interpretation, or participant safety.
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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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Wu Xinhong
RECRUITINGWuhan, Hubei, 430079, China
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