Liquid Biopsy in Early Colorectal Lesions (FECCO-BioBank)

May 29, 2026 updated by: University Hospital, Montpellier

Biobank for Validating Liquid Biopsy in Predicting the Prognosis of Superficial Colonic Lesions

Early colorectal cancer screening increasingly detects small superficial colonic lesions, but current diagnostic tools still struggle to distinguish benign from malignant lesions and to assess lymph node risk. As histology after resection has limited accuracy, many patients undergo unnecessary surgery.

Liquid biopsy, analyzing circulating biomarkers such as tumor DNA, extracellular vesicles, and nucleosomes, offers a non-invasive way to better classify these lesions. Emerging evidence suggests it may outperform current criteria for predicting lymph node involvement in T1 colorectal cancer.

This study will establish a biobank of 1,000 patients to identify blood-based signatures that predict tumor stage and lymph node status. The hypothesis of the study is that circulating biomarkers can accurately differentiate benign from malignant lesions and identify patients with or without lymph node metastasis.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

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.

Detailed Description

Introduction :

Early colorectal cancer screening increasingly identifies superficial colonic lesions, but current diagnostic tools often fail to accurately distinguish benign from malignant lesions or to predict lymph node involvement. As histological criteria have limited predictive value, many patients with T1 tumors undergo unnecessary surgery. Liquid biopsy, based on circulating blood biomarkers, offers a promising non-invasive alternative that may improve diagnostic precision.

Aim :

The study aims to build a biobank of 1,000 patients with superficial colonic tumors to identify and validate circulating biomarker signatures capable of predicting tumor malignancy and lymph node status. The hypothesis is that liquid biopsy markers can reliably differentiate benign from malignant lesions and identify patients at risk of lymph node metastasis.

Methods :

This is a multicenter prospective cohort study embedded in the FECCo cohort. Blood samples will be collected at the time of endoscopic resection and, for pT1 lesions, again 2-6 weeks later. Clinical data will be retrieved annually from the FECCo database. Diagnostic performance of circulating biomarkers will be assessed using ROC curves, logistic regression (Lasso), and bootstrap validation to identify signatures associated with malignancy and lymph node involvement.

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
1000

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Eligible patients will be identified and recruited in gastroenterology consultations, within the investigating centers to which they will be referred as part of routine care.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient of legal age (≥ 18 years)
  • Patient with a superficial colonic tumor refered for submucosal dissection
  • Patient included in the FECCo cohort (patients will be included concomitantly in FECCO-Biobank)
  • Patient wishing to participate in the FECCO-BioBank biological collection

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Person with significant comorbidities preventing blood sampling
  • Patients with a distant metastasis detected by imaging
  • Person unable to read and write French
  • Person who have expressed their opposition to participating in this research after being informed by an investigator and having read the information sheet
  • Person not benefiting from a national health insurance scheme
  • Person under legal protection, guardianship or curatorship
  • Person participating in other study with an ongoing exclusion period

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

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
Extracellular vesicles (EVs)
Time Frame: Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)

Detection of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs):

  • to predict the presence of adenocarcinomatous degeneration (malignant profile) vs. dysplasia (benign profile)
  • to differentiate patients with pT1 adenocarcinoma of the colon, with lymph node metastasis (N+), from those without lymph node metastasis (N-) before treatment.
Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)

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
Circulating nucleosomes
Time Frame: Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)

Detection of circulating nucleosomes:

  • to predict the presence of adenocarcinomatous degeneration (malignant profile) vs. dysplasia (benign profile)
  • to differentiate patients with pT1 adenocarcinoma of the colon, with lymph node metastasis (N+), from those without lymph node metastasis (N-) before treatment.
Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)
Time Frame: Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)

Detection of ctDNA:

  • to predict the presence of adenocarcinomatous degeneration (malignant profile) vs. dysplasia (benign profile)
  • to differentiate patients with pT1 adenocarcinoma of the colon, with lymph node metastasis (N+), from those without lymph node metastasis (N-) before treatment.
Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)
Circulating proteomic profile via O-link technology
Time Frame: Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)

Detection of circulating proteomic profile via O-link technology:

  • to predict the presence of adenocarcinomatous degeneration (malignant profile) vs. dysplasia (benign profile)
  • to differentiate patients with pT1 adenocarcinoma of the colon, with lymph node metastasis (N+), from those without lymph node metastasis (N-) before treatment.
Morning of endoscopic resection (Day 0), 2 and 6 weeks after Day 0 (only for pT1 tumor)

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, Montpellier

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.
University Hospital, Limoges
Société Nationale Française de Gastroentérologie

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.
  • Study Chair: Antoine DEBOURDEAU, MD, University Hospital, Montpellier

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 (Estimated)

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.
June 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
March 15, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

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 15, 2031

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).
December 2, 2025

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.
December 19, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

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.
January 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
June 2, 2026

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.
May 29, 2026

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.
May 1, 2026

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.
  • RECHMPL25_0092
  • 2025-A02328-41 (Registry Identifier: ID-RCB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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.

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