Leveraging Digital Health Solutions to Collect Patient-Reported Outcomes in Rectal Cancer

September 2, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco
Rectal cancer care is increasingly complex and may include systemic therapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or nonoperative watch-and-wait surveillance. These treatments can have both short- and long-term effects on bowel, urinary, sexual, and stoma-related function. Prior studies have often assessed quality of life and treatment decision experiences at a single time point or after one type of treatment, resulting in limited information about how patients' experiences change throughout their course of care. This study will evaluate health-related quality of life and experiences with treatment decisions among patients with non-metastatic rectal cancer using validated patient-reported outcome measures over the course of treatment.

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

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. Evaluate feasibility and adherence of participant-reported outcomes through UCSF MyChart.
  2. Evaluate changes in health-related quality of life over the course of rectal cancer treatment.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. Evaluate longitudinal changes in decisional regret over the course of rectal cancer treatment.
  2. Evaluate the association between health-related quality of life and decisional regret over the course of rectal cancer treatment.
  3. Evaluate differences in health-related quality of life and decisional regret trajectories by treatment stage and modality.
  4. Evaluate patterns of survey completion and adherence to the MyChart survey workflow.

OUTLINE: This is a prospective observational study of adults with non-metastatic rectal cancer receiving care at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Participants will complete patient-reported outcome measures through UCSF MyChart during the course of their treatment and will be follow up to 24 month post treatment.

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.
150

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 Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
        • University of California, San Francisco
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Mark Zhao, MD

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

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults with non-metastatic rectal cancer receiving treatment at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adults age 18 years or older meet all of the following.
  2. Documented rectal cancer diagnosis (for example, ICD-10-CM C20) without metastatic disease at the initial study eligibility assessment.
  3. Established follow-up with UCSF colorectal surgery, medical oncology, or radiation oncology, generally defined as at least two encounters more than 1 month apart.
  4. Active UCSF MyChart access by enrollment and ability to personally complete the electronic consent and surveys, independently or with reasonable technical or accessibility assistance that does not answer questions on the participant's behalf. Individuals identified through PRP direct mail who do not yet use MyChart may activate MyChart before enrollment.
  5. Able to read and complete the currently validated English-language study materials.
  6. Able to provide informed consent and HIPAA authorization.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Metastatic disease at the initial eligibility assessment.
  2. Unable or unwilling to activate and personally use UCSF MyChart before enrollment, even with reasonable technical or accessibility assistance.
  3. Unable to complete the English-language consent and validated instruments. This initial pilot is limited to English because validated translations and translated automated workflows are not yet available.
  4. No UCSF clinical encounter for more than 6 months or otherwise lost to follow-up.- Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent and HIPAA authorization.
  5. Prisoner at enrollment. If a participant becomes incarcerated or loses decision-making capacity after enrollment, active survey collection will stop.

Participants who develop metastatic progression after enrollment are not treated as screen failures; they will receive one final general ABCRC module and then exit the automated survey sequence.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Participants with rectal cancer
Participants with non-metastatic rectal cancer and who are receiving treatment at UCSF.
Other: Quality of Life Surveys
Patient-reported outcome measures: Assessment of Burden in Colorectal Cancer (ABCRC) & Decisional Regret Scale (DRS)

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
Proportion of scheduled MyChart survey events completed
Time Frame: Up top 12 months
The proportion of scheduled MyChart survey events completed by participants will be summarized, with a target completion rate of at least 75%.
Up top 12 months
Change in mean ABCRC total and module-specific scores over time.
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Changes in Assessment of Burden in Colorectal Cancer (ABCRC) total and module-specific scores will be evaluated from enrollment and in relation to key treatment events. Statistical models that account for multiple measurements from the same participant will be used to evaluate changes in scores over time.
Up to 12 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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in mean DRS score and proportion of participants with clinically significant decisional regret
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Longitudinal changes in Decisional Regret Scale (DRS) scores will be evaluated over the course of treatment using statistical models that account for multiple measurements from the same participant. The proportion of participants with clinically significant decisional regret, defined as a DRS score greater than 50, will also be summarized.
Up to 12 months
Association between ABCRC and DRS scores over the course of treatment
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
The relationship between Assessment of Burden in Colorectal Cancer (ABCRC) scores and Decisional Regret Scale (DRS) scores will be evaluated using repeated measurements collected from each participant. The analysis will examine whether participants with different levels of quality of life also report different levels of decisional regret, and whether changes in quality of life are related to changes in decisional regret within the same participant over time. Statistical methods that account for repeated measurements will be used.
Up to 12 months
Change in mean ABCRC and DRS scores over time by treatment characteristics
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Changes in ABCRC and DRS scores will be evaluated and compared among participants receiving different treatments, including surgery, watch-and-wait surveillance, treatment sequence, and surgical procedure. Statistical models that account for multiple measurements from the same participant will be used to evaluate differences in score changes over time.
Up to 12 months
Patterns of survey nonresponse, missingness, and workflow adherence
Time Frame: Up to 12 months
Patterns of survey completion, nonresponse, missing data, and adherence to scheduled MyChart survey events will be described over the course of treatment. Missing information will be summarized and evaluated to understand how missing surveys or responses may vary over time and by participant or treatment characteristics.
Up to 12 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.
University of California, San Francisco

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: Mark Zhao, MD, University of California, San Francisco

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.
October 31, 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.
November 30, 2027

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.
November 30, 2027

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).
September 2, 2026

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.
September 2, 2026

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.
September 9, 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.
September 9, 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.
September 2, 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.
September 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.
  • 264516
  • NCI-2026-06213 (Registry Identifier: NCI Clinical Trials Reporting System (CTRP))

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.

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