New Ultrasound-Laser combo could spare rectal cancer patients from unnecessary surgery
NCT ID NCT04339374
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is testing a new device that combines ultrasound with photoacoustic imaging to look at rectal tumors. The goal is to see if it can more accurately tell whether a patient's cancer has completely responded to pre-surgery treatment. If it works, doctors could avoid operating on patients who are already cancer-free. The trial will enroll 90 adults with rectal cancer who are scheduled for surgery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Photoacoustic imaging device
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this imaging tool could help doctors more accurately determine which rectal cancer patients have responded completely to treatment, sparing them from unnecessary surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage feasibility study with only 90 participants. The device may not prove accurate enough in practice, and results may not apply to all rectal cancer patients.
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 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2023
- 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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19 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria Patients: * Patients with any stage of rectal cancer undergoing surgical resection. * Age \>18 years * Able to provide informed consent Additional Inclusion Criterion for in vivo imaging (patients): * Lesion located within 15cm of the anal verge Exclusion Criteria Patients: * Inability to provide consent * Collection of intraoperative specimen for frozen section analysis will disqualify patients from participation Eligibility Criteria Readers: * Colorectal surgeons or radiologists who treat or interpret imaging regularly for patients with rectal cancer.
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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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Washington University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
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