Nerve-Mapping device aims to reduce side effects of rectal cancer surgery
NCT ID NCT04949646
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tests a device that maps pelvic nerves during rectal cancer surgery. The goal is to help surgeons avoid damaging nerves that control bladder, bowel, and sexual function. About 44 adults with rectal cancer will be monitored during surgery and followed for three months to see if their quality of life improves.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pelvic intraoperative neuromonitoring (pIONM) device
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could help preserve bladder, bowel, and sexual function after rectal cancer surgery, improving patients' quality of life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 44 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The monitoring device may not reliably prevent nerve damage.
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 44 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2021
- Expected to finish
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Sep 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 to 90 years
- 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: * Histologically confirmed rectal cancer * Surgical resection with TME * \<90 years old * Signed informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Emergency operation * Presence of pacemaker * Partial mesorectal excision * Sepsis or systematic infection * Physical or mental impairment * Pregnancy or nursing * Insufficient preoperative data for the urogenital/ anorectal function * Lack of compliance with the research process
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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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University Hospital of Larissa
RECRUITINGLarissa, 41110, Greece
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Laser light may help surgeons spot risky bowel connections