
“I think it’s essential that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.
This study is looking at the number and position of stem cells in bowel tissue of people at normal and high risk of bowel cancer.
A stem cell is a special cell that is able to grow into any type of cell in the body. They are in all tissues of the body, and help the body maintain itself by developing into specialised cells wherever they are needed.
Stem cells in the bowel are found at the bottom of thousands of glands (crypts) in the bowel lining. These stem cells create all the cells lining the bowel wall. The stem cells are created at the base of the crypt, and gradually rise to the top of the crypt, developing into fully mature bowel wall cells as they go.
Researchers now believe that bowel cancer cells come from stem cells where there has been some kind of gene fault to do with the growth and division of the cell. This leads to uncontrolled production of cells which in turn have faulty gene information, causing a cancer to form.
In this study, researchers want to understand more about stem cells in the bowel. They will look at tissue samples from people at normal risk of bowel cancer, and of those at higher risk. The aims of this study are to
You will not get any direct benefit from taking part in this study, and it is unlikely to change your treatment plan in any way. But the results of the study will be used to help people in the future.
You can enter this study if you are
You cannot enter this study if you
OR (during your colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy)
The study team would not be able to use any samples taken if the laboratory later finds bowel cancer cells or tiny areas of bowel tissue (colitis).
This study will recruit 150 people. Everyone taking part will have the bowel examination that is part of their planned treatment.
For the study, you will give permission for the team to remove 9 small samples of bowel tissue (biopsies) during your colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy.
As the study team will be taking the tissue samples during your planned bowel examination, you will not need to make any extra visits to take part in this study.
All operations and procedures carry a small risk.
There is a very small chance that the colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy could cause a hole in the bowel wall (a perforation). A perforation will almost always need surgery to fix it.
Bleeding from the bowel is a more common complication, but this is usually minor, and settles on its own.
The more biopsies you have, the higher the risk of bleeding or perforation.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Mr Iain McCallum
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
University of Newcastle
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I think it’s essential that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”