NCT05732623Recruiting
Exogenous and Endogenous Risk Factors for Early-onset Colorectal Cancer
Diet obEsity sMoking Epigenetics geneTics biomaRkers Physical Activity: An International Multicenter Case-control Study on Endogenous and Exogenous Risk Factors in Early-onset Colorectal Cancer
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 24 Apr 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
An increase in early-onset colorectal cancers (eoCRC), defined as a CRC before 50 years, is confirmed globally. CRC pathogenesis has been associated with several risk factors (family history, germline pathogenic variants, obesity, alcohol, physical activity, red meat, and a Western diet). Design: an international, multicenter, retrospective case-control study of prospectively enrolled patients; low-risk intervention study as it will perform a fecal occult blood test Endpoint: predictive power of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQFFQ) developed for eoCRC. Cases: Patients with a recent diagnosis of eoCRC (within 2 years from enrollment). Controls: matched by age (matching range ± 5 years) and sex. Healthy volunteers will be mainly enrolled among workers within the participating hospital center. The enrolled healthy volunteers will perform a fecal occult blood test. Variables of interest: age, sex, ethnicity, BMI at the time of eoCRC diagnosis and at 18 years old, country, tobacco smoking at the time of eoCRC diagnosis and at 18 years old, sitting time, TV-viewing time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), waist circumference (cm), home blood pressure levels (mmHg), fasting blood glucose (mg/dl), regular consumption of aspirin/NSAID, calcium and folate supplements, oral contraceptive agents, post-menopausal hormones and years of consumptions, if the filled questionnaire reflects diet for the last 5-10 years before. Cases only: date of eoCRC diagnosis, symptoms at diagnosis, eoCRC localization, eoCRC stage, histological diagnosis, type of surgery, and date (if performed), chemotherapy and radiotherapy (if performed), vital status and duration of follow-up, family history of CRC and other cancers (uterus, ovary, stomach, small intestine, urinary tract/bladder/kidney, bile ducts, brain, pancreas, skin tumors), type of germline pathogenetic variant (if performed). Before the case-control study, three non-consecutive 24-hour Dietary Recalls (24hDRs) will validate the SQFFQ. The SQFFQ will be administered to the validation study group during three non-consecutive calls, including one non-weekday (30-minute 24-h-recall computer-aided personal interview). Primary Objective To measure the relative risk of specific dietary and lifestyle factors (smoking habit, alcohol intake, physical activity) for early-onset colorectal cancer in countries where eoCRC incidence is increasing versus stable/decreasing
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Observational
- Enrollment
- 2300 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 27 Jan 2023
- Start date
- 5 Dec 2022
- Primary completion date
- Jan 2030
- Lead sponsor
- San Raffaele University
- Diseases
- Obesity, Colorectal cancer
- NCT number
- NCT05732623
What you commit to
- Study type: Observational
- Planned participants: 2300
- From 5 Dec 2022 to the primary completion date, Jan 2030
- 8 sites in 6 countries
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Other illness
- Diseases that can modify the dietary regimen (celiac disease, diabetes)
- Diseases that are known to predispose to eoCRC (personal past or recent history of inflammatory bowel disease, past history of pelvic irradiation)
Age
- CRC diagnosed at ≥ 50 years
Other
- Unable to give written consents and to fill in the electronic questionnaire
Who the study is looking for
- All sexes eligible
- (for Cases) eoCRC diagnosed between 18 and 49 years and confirmed by histology (biopsy or surgical specimen in case of surgery)
- (for Controls) negative past and present history of cancer; negative fecal occult blood test (FOBT), or negative colonoscopy.
Age in the registry: 18 years to 49 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers
Sites (8)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Hospital of the University of Munich (LMU) Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Munich | Germany | Recruiting |
| Gabriela Moslein Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Wuppertal | Germany | Recruiting |
| Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, University of Barcelona Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Barcelona | Spain | Recruiting |
| Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Helsinki | Finland | Recruiting |
| Prof Giulia Martina Cavestro, MD PhD Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Milan | Italy | Recruiting |
| Division of Cancer Medicine, Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Institute for Cancer Genetics and Informatics Norwegian Radium Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Oslo | Norway | Recruiting |
| Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Medicine University of Chicago Medicine Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Chicago | United States | Recruiting |
| Department of Medicine-Gastroenterology, Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Colorado Hospital Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Denver | United States | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.