Effects of Eicosapentaenoic Acid on Subjects at High Risk for Colorectal Cancer (EPAUC)

September 17, 2015 updated by: Luigi Ricciardiello, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna

Effects of Eicosapentaenoic Acid on Molecular, Metabonomics and Intestinal Microbiota Changes, in Subjects With Long-standing Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The aim of this study is to test Eicosapentaenoic acid's effects on markers relevant to colorectal carcinogenesis, RNA and DNA profiles, and the possibility that Eicosapentaenoic Acid treatment might be associated with changes of the gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles in patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
25

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • BO
      • Bologna, BO, Italy, 40138
        • Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Policlinico Sant'Orsola Malpighi

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Arm: experimental

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with ulcerative colitis (diagnosed based on clinical criteria, endoscopic and histological) lasting over 8 years, with no clinical activity (SCCAI = 0), and in stable treatment (without any change in treatment in the previous 3 months) with mesalamine, immunomodulators and / or biologics.
  • Baseline fecal calprotectin> 150 micrograms / g.
  • Signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients receiving systemic steroids in the two months prior to study entry.
  • Patients taking concomitant warfarin or other blood thinners.
  • Known or suspected hypersensitivity to eicosapentaenoic acid/omega 3.
  • Women who are pregnant or of childbearing age who do not accept the use of contraceptive methods specified in the study (oral contraception, IUDs) and breastfeeding women.
  • Patients with severe medical conditions that, in the opinion of the investigator, contraindicate the patient's participation in the study.
  • Changes of treatments and / or use of experimental drugs within 3 months before inclusion in the study.
  • Use of Probiotics

Arm: no intervention

Inclusion criteria

  • Subjects undergoing screening colonoscopy within the regional colorectal cancer screening programme
  • Signed informed consent
  • Polypectomy with biopsy forceps.

Exclusion criteria

  • HBV-positive, HCV-positive, HIV-positive or otherwise affected by infectious diseases
  • Subjects undergoing chemo and radiation therapy within six months prior to surgery
  • Patients receiving systemic steroid in the two months prior to study entry
  • Patients undergoing antibiotic therapy within three months prior to the study
  • Patients treated with probiotics

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Subjects with long-standing ulcerative colitis and meeting the inclusion criteria will receive 2 g/day of Eicosapentaenoic Acid as a supplement for 90 days
Dietary supplement: Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Twenty patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis undergoing the usual colonoscopic surveillance + biopsy sampling will be recruited. At entry six extra biopsy samples will be collected from the colon. We will also collect blood (for serum, plasma and red cells isolation), urine and stools. Subjects will then receive 2 g/day of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (ALFA ™, SLA Pharma AG, Switzerland) as a supplement for 90 days. At the end of the study each subject will undergo sigmoidoscopy for the collection of 6 biopsies. Blood, urine and stools will be obtained prior to the procedure.
Other Names:
  • ALFA ™
No Intervention: Normal controls
Five patients undergoing screening colonoscopy and polypectomy using biopsy forceps. Six biopsies of healthy mucosa will be collected at the time of colonoscopy. Faeces, urine and blood samples will be collected prior to performing colonoscopy. The samples will serve as healthy reference for the basic studies.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Changes of RNA profiles (gene expression and micro RNA) from baseline
Time Frame: baseline and at 3 months
baseline and at 3 months
Changes of DNA methylation profiles
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months
Changes in cell proliferation
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months
Changes of apoptosis
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Changes of circulating cytokines from baseline
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months
Changes of membrane fatty acid composition from baseline
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months
Changes of metabolomic profiles from baseline
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months
Change of Microbiota composition from baseline
Time Frame: baseline and 3 months
baseline and 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Luigi Ricciardiello, MD, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Policlinico S.Orsola Malpighi

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 19, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 20, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 24, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 18, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 17, 2015

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • EPAUC/2013

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings