Histidine Supplementation for Antitumor Immunity in Colorectal Cancer

August 18, 2026 updated by: Jing-yuan Fang, MD, Ph. D

A Single-arm Clinical Study of Histidine Supplementation for Antitumor Immunity in Colorectal Cancer

The goal of this clinical study is to learn whether oral histidine supplementation may be safely used to support antitumor immune function during standard colorectal cancer treatment.

Participants with colorectal cancer in the supplementation group will:

Take 2g oral histidine once daily during standard colorectal cancer treatment; Provide blood samples before and after supplementation; Attend regular follow-up visits for laboratory tests, safety assessment, and treatment evaluation.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • Shanghai Municipality
      • Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
        • Recruiting
        • Shanghai Punan Hospital of Pudong New District
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients aged 18-80 years, regardless of sex.
  2. Body mass index (BMI) ≥18.5.
  3. NRS-2002 score <3.
  4. Diagnosed with stage II or higher colorectal cancer who require pharmacological intervention.
  5. Capable of oral intake of medication.
  6. Willing to participate in the study and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Participation in other interventional clinical trials (including drugs, nutritional supplements, medical devices, etc.) within 4 weeks prior to enrollment.
  2. Presence of ascites, severe diarrhea, intractable vomiting, severe malabsorption syndrome, paralysis, mechanical intestinal obstruction, or active gastrointestinal bleeding.
  3. Allergy to sample components.
  4. Current use of other nutritional supplements that may affect the validity and effectiveness of the study results.
  5. Pregnant, lactating female patients or women with fertility who test positive in the baseline pregnancy test.
  6. Presence of cognitive impairments or mental illnesses that prevent understanding of the study procedures.
  7. Presence of any other conditions, judged by the researcher, make the participant unsuitable for participation in the study.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Histidine supplement group
Patients with colorectal cancer will receive oral histidine supplementation in addition to standard anti-tumor treatment for 9 weeks.
Histidine capsules, 1000 mg per capsule, taken orally as 2 capsules once daily for 9 weeks. Histidine supplementation will be administered in addition to standard anti-tumor treatment determined by the treating physician according to clinical guidelines.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Serum histidine concentration
Time Frame: At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks.
Serum histidine concentration measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks.
Percentage of IFN-gamma-positive T cells
Time Frame: At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from patients with colorectal cancer will be assessed by flow cytometry to evaluate the percentage of IFN-gamma-positive T cells as a T cell effector function marker.
At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks.
Percentage of granzyme B-positive T cells
Time Frame: At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from patients with colorectal cancer will be assessed by flow cytometry to evaluate the percentage of granzyme B-positive T cells as a T cell effector function marker.
At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tumor volume
Time Frame: At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks, and during follow-up at 3 and 6 months.
Tumor volume will be assessed using available imaging examinations and/or colonoscopy findings, according to routine clinical evaluation in patients with colorectal cancer.
At the time of enrollment as baseline, and at the end of treatment at 9 weeks, and during follow-up at 3 and 6 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Study Director: Jing-Yuan Fang, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, NHC Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

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)

May 6, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • (2025)YLD(024)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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.