Skeletal Muscle Energy Metabolism in Undernourished Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancer (METERMUCADIG)

December 15, 2025 updated by: University Hospital, Tours

Study of Alterations in Skeletal Muscle Energy Metabolism in Undernourished Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancer

Undernutrition associated with cancer, or cancer cachexia results from a deterioration of the energy balance that leads to a gradual mobilization of energy reserves in the body and to increasing deterioration of the nutritional status of patients. This will thus significantly reduce quality of life and survival of patients with a lower tolerance to cancer treatments. Despite undeniable progress in knowledge, many pathophysiological mechanisms remain few or not explored, which could explain that there is still no satisfactory therapeutic solution to halt the gradual deterioration of the nutritional status of patients. In this sense, apart from preclinical data obtained in animal models, there is currently no clinical study on the functioning of skeletal muscle energy metabolism in undernourished patients suffering of cancer.

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.
51

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

  • France
      • Tours, France, 37044
        • Service d'Hépato-gastroentérologie et de Cancérologie Digestive, CHRU de TOURS

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 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Case group selection criteria:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years ≤ Age ≤ 80 years
  • Colorectal pancreatic cancer
  • Undernutrition related to cancer (weight loss > 5% weight in one month or 10% in 6 months)
  • Indication to systemic chemotherapy
  • Indication to the development of an implantable port
  • Life expectancy ≥ 3 months
  • WHO General Status ≤ 2
  • Patients affiliated to social security scheme
  • Informed consent signed by the patient

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Unbalanced Diabetes
  • Systemic corticosteroid treatment
  • Any severe uncontrolled medical condition
  • Alopecia

Control group selection criteria:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years ≤ Age ≤ 80 years
  • Colorectal pancreatic cancer
  • Indication adjuvant chemotherapy
  • Indication to the development of an implantable port
  • Life expectancy ≥ 3 months
  • WHO General Status ≤ 2
  • Patients affiliated to social security scheme
  • Informed consent signed by the patient

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Undernutrition related cancer (weight loss > 5% weight in one month or 10% in 6 months)
  • Unbalanced Diabetes
  • Systemic corticosteroid treatment
  • Any severe uncontrolled medical condition
  • Alopecia

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel 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.
Other: Case group
the intervention, specific to the study, is to take samples on patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer
Other: Samples
Blood samples, muscle biopsy and sample of hair
Other: Control group
the intervention, specific to the study, is to take samples on non-undernourished patients supported for adjuvant chemotherapy as part of colorectal cancer
Other: Samples
Blood samples, muscle biopsy and sample of hair

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Measurement of muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics
Time Frame: An average of one week
Measurement of muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics by high resolution oxygraphy
An average of one week

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quantification of muscle lipid droplets
Time Frame: An average of one week
Quantification of muscle lipid droplets by electron microscopy
An average of one week
Analysis of the expression of target genes and proteins
Time Frame: An average of one week
Analysis of the expression of target genes and proteins involved in 1/ mitochondrial metabolism 2/ lipid metabolism 3/ the regulation of energy metabolism and 4/ muscle proteolysis by RTqPCR with SYBR Green and by Western Blot
An average of one week
Determination of body composition (fat mass / lean mass)
Time Frame: Within 4 weeks before inclusion
Determination of body composition ( fat mass / lean mass ) by an imaging method scannographic
Within 4 weeks before inclusion
Determining the isotopic composition of nitrogen hair
Time Frame: An average of one week
Determining the isotopic composition of nitrogen hair spectrometry .
An average of one week

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.
University Hospital, Tours

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Inserm U1069 - Team Nutrition, Growth and Cancer

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: Thierry LECOMTE, MD-PhD, University Hospital, Tours

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Actual)

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 19, 2016

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.
December 4, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 4, 2018

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).
October 7, 2015

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.
October 9, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

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.
October 12, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
December 22, 2025

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.
December 15, 2025

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.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • PHAO14-TL/METERMUCADIG
  • 2015-A00683-46 (Registry Identifier: IdRCB)
  • 2015-R25 (Other Identifier: CPP)
  • 150963B-12 (Other Identifier: ANSM)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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.

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