View clinical trials related to Colon Cancer Prevention.
Filter by:Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women and over 70% of cases are preventable. A western diet, characterized by low vegetable and high red and processed meat intake, indisputably increases colon cancer risk. Heme, which gives red meat its color, is highly reactive, induces hyperproliferation and promotes DNA damage in the colon to a greater degree than any other red meat-associated carcinogen. Preclinical models indicate dietary chlorophyll, which gives green leafy vegetables their color, binds and stabilizes heme in the lumen, preventing genotoxicity. Additionally, data from our randomized controlled weight loss trial indicate increasing red meat consumption has deleterious effects on the gut microbiome, which is also implicated in colon cancer etiology. Because heme-containing foods are the richest sources of bioavailable iron and several other vitamins and minerals, mitigating their potential risks may be more beneficial than eliminating meat, poultry, fish and seafood in their entirety from the diet for risk reduction. This feasibility study will begin to explore the research question: Will adding chlorophyll-rich green leafy vegetables to the diet prevent the deleterious effects of heme-rich red meat on the human host and microbiome? The investigators will randomly assign 50 adults at increased risk of colorectal adenoma to a block randomized crossover study with two 4-week dietary regimens in which: 1) participants will be provided with frozen green leafy vegetables and counseled to consume a high chlorophyll diet including 1 cup per day of cooked green leafy vegetables and normal meat (high heme) consumption; or 2) continue their normal high heme, low chlorophyll diet (control). A 4-week washout period encouraging habitual diet will be employed between the intervention periods and data will be collected at all four time points. This study is critical in translating preclinical findings and has the potential to open the door to new knowledge and standards of care in colon cancer prevention. This study is a required step to aid in the design of a larger RCT to determine whether increased green leafy vegetable consumption mitigates the negative effects of red meat on DNA damage, inflammatory cytokines and gut microbe composition. This could lead to equally beneficial dietary guidance for colon health that might be more easily attained by the general public through addition, rather than omission of specific foods.
A Phase 1B study of the efficacy of a topically-administered 7-amino acid peptide labeled with a near-infrared fluorophore Cy5 for detecting neoplastic areas of the colon is proposed. The study will test the efficacy of administering this agent (QRH-882260 Heptapeptide) to human subjects undergoing clinically-indicated colonoscopy for endoscopic resection of known colonic adenomas or for surveillance biopsies of known dysplasia in the setting of irritable bowel disease (IBD). Up to 120 evaluable subjects will be enrolled. Subjects will be recruited around scheduled standard of care procedures. The endoscopists performing the procedures are all endoscopists credentialed at the University of Michigan to do these procedures. Urine for dipstick pregnancy testing (if applicable) will be collected before the procedure, along with medical information. Vital signs are routinely monitored throughout the clinical procedure and are available in the electronic medical record. The endoscopy will proceed per the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) standard of care. The endoscopist performing the clinical procedure will evaluate the potential risk (if any) for the subject to continue with the procedure or study. Five mL of the reconstituted QRH-882260 Heptapeptide (~100 μM) will be sprayed onto the site of interest through a catheter in the endoscope. Five minutes after QRH-882260 Heptapeptide application, the unbound peptide will be washed off using the endogator irrigator and the residual liquid will be suctioned. Pictures with white-light and fluorescence will be taken with the scanning fiber based molecular imaging endoscopic probe inserted via the instrument channel of the standard endoscope before the QRH-882260 Heptapeptide application, immediately after application and then again after the QRH-882260 Heptapeptide will be washed off. The area of interest identified will be resected/biopsied per discretion of the endoscopist per clinical care. All specimens taken are for clinical care only (not research use) and will be sent for routine histology per UMHS standard of care.
There is strong observational epidemiologic evidence that physical activity is inversely associated with risk of colon cancer occurrence in both men and women. This association has been found in over 30 observational studies, and appears to be independent of effects of diet, body fat mass, and other potential confounding factors. Prior to large-scale recommendations regarding exercise as a means of preventing colon cancer, however, more information is needed regarding the type of exercise, when it must be initiated, and how much must be done, in order to produce a protective effect. Information on the mechanisms and biological pathways through which exercise might protect the colon will aid in developing the answers to these questions. This is a randomized controlled trial of a one-year moderate/vigorous exercise intervention vs. delayed- exercise control on various biomarkers of colon cancer risk in persons that have undergone a colonoscopy within the past 36 months.. The trial is designed to establish the effects of the exercise intervention on colorectal cell proliferation and terminal differentiation, and on factors that may lie in the pathway between exercise and proliferation and apoptosis, in colon and rectal epithelium. It will provide data on: 1) the efficacy of a one-year moderate intensity aerobic exercise program in modulating these processes to a pattern considered low risk for colon cancer, and 2) the mechanisms whereby exercise may lower colon cancer risk in humans. To the investigators' knowledge, this will be the first study of its kind.