Active clinical trials for "Colonic Neoplasms"

Introduction: Case management (CM) has been proposed as a method for optimizing the course of treatment for complicated cancer patients. However evidence of the effect of CM is limited and methodologically rigorous research is needed. Aim: To analyze effects of Nurse CM in complicated cancer care. Methods: The study is designed as a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) including approximately 280 colorectal cancer patients. Intervention group patients will be offered usual medical treatment plus supportive intervention from a case manager. Control group patients will receive usual medical and supportive treatment. The intervention: Case managers are registered nurses and possess thorough knowledge of cancer treatment and pathways. Core intervention elements: Planned and ad hoc personal and telephone contacts, surveillance of care pathways, coordination and dissemination of care plan (including transfer of patient-specific information to other departments and general practice). Primary outcomes: Patient evaluations of care pathways and "Quality of Life" (questionnaires). Secondary outcomes: Use of health care services and care process measures (The National Health Insurance Service Registry and The National Patient Registry; and GPs' evaluations of continuity of care (questionnaire). Schedule: "Case management used to optimize cancer care pathways: A systematic Review" has been published in BMC Health Services Research. The CM manual has been written. Questionnaires are under development and pilot testing. Two case managers have been appointed 1. January 2009. After training and pilot testing of the intervention the RCT will begin in March 2009. Inclusion period is 12 months.

This randomized clinical trial studies the Family Caregiver Palliative Care Intervention in supporting caregivers of patients with stage II-IV gastrointestinal, gynecologic, urologic and lung cancers. Education and telephone counseling may reduce stress and improve the well-being and quality of life of caregivers of cancer patients.

This will be a feasibility study to evaluate the role of endocytoscopy in classifying colorectal polyps in vivo. The primary outcomes will be to determine the key endocytoscopy image features of neoplastic and non-neoplastic colorectal polyps. The target population will include adult subjects undergoing screening and surveillance colonoscopies.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and life threatening condition that will affect one in thirteen individuals. Colonoscopy is the most commonly used procedure to identify colorectal malignancies or precancerous lesions at an earlier stage, which affords an opportunity for cure. However, low level of bowel cleanliness hinders polyp detection and therefore can limit colonoscopy effectiveness. Historically, the majority of the studies have focused on pharmacological factors to optimize bowel preparation quality. Recently, non-pharmacological factors have been found to have significant increases in bowel preparation quality. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of web-based instructions vs. the historical phone/letter instructions given to patients planning to have a colonoscopy.

Non-attendance to out-patient endoscopic procedures is high among underserved blacks. The overall goal of this proposal is to evaluate the effect of directly involving a social contact (chosen by the patient) on completion and quality of out-patient endoscopy recommended for the patient by his/her primary care physician, or after scheduling by the gastrointestinal endoscopist. Improved adherence and better quality of procedures are postulated with involvement of social contacts.

This randomized clinical trial studies website access or genetic counseling with or without patient navigators on adherence to colorectal cancer screening recommendations in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer and their first degree relatives. Websites for colorectal cancer prevention and genetic counseling may be effective methods to help people learn about cancer screening. Patient navigators may improve adherence to colorectal cancer screening recommendations. It is not yet known whether website access or genetic counseling is more effective with or without patient navigators.

This pilot clinical trial studies the feasibility of a low glycemic load diet in patients with stage I-III colon cancer. A low glycemic load diet includes foods that have low scores on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a scale that measures how much a certain carbohydrate causes a person's blood sugar to rise. A low glycemic load diet may help decrease the chance of cancer coming back and improve the survival in patients with colon cancer.

This randomized clinical trial studies the preliminary efficacy of a yoga skills training (YST) compared to counseling and education (CE) for reducing treatment-related symptoms in patients with colorectal cancer who are receiving chemotherapy. The YST may reduce fatigue, other treatment-related symptoms, and improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients with colorectal cancer. It is not yet known whether YST is more effective then CE in reducing these outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to test the safety and find the response rate of combining the dietary supplement, curcumin, with the standard of care, FDA-approved chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU, Adracil) and see what effects (good and bad) that the combined treatments have on colon cancer.

OncoVAX® is the first cancer vaccine that both prevents cancer recurrence and addresses the diversity of cancer cells. In this pivotal randomized, multicenter Phase IIIb study in patients with Stage II colon cancer, OncoVAX is designed to use a patient's own cancer cells to mobilize the body's immune system to prevent the return of colon cancer following surgery.