Colonoscopy Clinical Trials 2023
Browse 10 Colonoscopy Medical Studies Across 13 Cities
14 Colonoscopy Clinics
What Are Colonoscopy Clinical Trials?
Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the 2nd most prevalent cause of death in cancer patients in the United States. Although it is regarded as one of the most preventable cancers, clinical trials aim to determine whether colonoscopy provides adequate diagnosis and whether effective treatments can be implemented during a colonoscopy.
Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) also screens patients for colon cancer. Although FBOT is non-invasive, inexpensive testing, it cannot provide preventative treatment for CRC. Colonoscopy, on the other hand, can detect and remove colorectal adenomas that are precursors to CRC.
No large-scale investigation has clinically proven that colonoscopy is, in fact, effective in recognizing the early stages of CRC and has the potential to provide a preventative treatment option. The final research result aims to determine the efficacy of colonoscopy in reducing the mortality rate due to CRC.
Fecal Immunochemical tests (FITs) are a newer form of FOBC and are an ideal testing process for a population-based screening option. The Research will be used to determine whether colonoscopy has a greater success rate than FIT in treating and preventing patients in the early stages of CRC.
Why Is Colonoscopy Being Studied Through Clinical Trials?
A colonoscopy investigates the causes of severe diarrhea, rectal bleeding, ongoing or intense stomach pain, and various other gastrointestinal symptoms.
During a colonoscopy, a long thin bendable tube is inserted via the rectum into the colon. The tube is attached to a micro camera, enabling doctors to visually examine the colon.
The colonoscopy procedure provides a clear visual of the entire colon, and the tube and micro camera travel through the ascending and descending colon, the transverse colon that extends from the right to the lefthand side of your abdomen, as well as the sigmoid colon that joins to the rectum.
A colonoscopy is highly effective in detecting CRC and is also a viable treatment option for certain colonic problems and investigations. Should any irregularities be detected, doctors are to identify them and potentially treat certain symptoms or precursors to cancer.
What Are The Types Of Treatments Available For Colonoscopy?
Colonoscopy provides a wide range of diagnostic and treatment options for colon-related problems.
More often than not, colonoscopies are recommended following pre-colonoscopy tests and screening. Before a colonoscopy, a doctor would most likely have used the following test to determine whether there is a need for further investigative tests:
- Barium enema injects a white solution through the rectum into the colon, highlighting abnormalities through an x-ray.
- FOBT to look for possible unobserved blood in the stool, which could indicate CRC or polyps.
- A Stool DNA test investigates DNA in the stool to test for cancer and changes in cell genetics.
- Non-invasive computed tomography (CT) is a process where radiologists perform a type of x-ray to look for polyps that could cause cancer.
- Sigmoidoscopy is done through a thin tube inserted into the rectum, but it only provides doctors with a view of the lower abdomen.
Should any of these test results indicate a need for further investigation of treatment, a colonoscopy can examine the entire colon in detail and certain additional tests and treatments:
- Use a water jet to clean the colons lining
- Inject air into the bowel to view the bowel in further detail and perform surgery
- Use a suction device to clean inside the bowel
- Remove Colon polyps
- Detect Tumors
- Detect ulcerations
- Investigate the causes of Inflammation
- Find and treat Diverticular pouches
- Place stents to open restrictions in the colon
- Remove foreign objects found in the colon
What Are Some Recent Breakthrough Clinical Trials For Colonoscopy?
2023: Colonoscopy Versus Fecal Immunochemical will examine the medical and preventative benefits of comparing colonoscopy with Fecal Immunochemical Tests FIT screening. Participants will be evaluated, and their progress will be tracked over 10 years. All participants will qualify on baseline criteria.
2023: Colorectal Cancer and Pre-Cancerous Adenoma Non-Invasive Detection Test Study will assess whether investigations using colonoscopy and the ColonoSight test return the same results. The ColonoSight test will use stool samples to look for CTC, adenomas, and pre-cancerous adenomas and compare these to findings from a colonoscopy.
Who Are Some Of The Key Opinion Leaders In Colonoscopy Clinical Trial Research
Folosade P.May, MD, Ph.D., MPhil, completed her gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA and joined the Specialised Training and Research. She heads up a clinical team of clinical researchers at UCLA Health and is responsible for a portfolio of projects to improve the health of gastrointestinal patients at UCLA.
Samir Gupta, MD, is a gastroenterologist who obtained his degree from the University of Michigan and a masters degree in clinical science from UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in colorectal cancer screening and participates in observational studies to develop novel methods to determine and treat patients with high-risk polyps.
About The Author
Michael Gill - B. Sc.
First Published: October 25th, 2021
Last Reviewed: August 13th, 2023