Clinical trial · Observational
The Diverticulitis Study
Circulating Tumor DNA Guided vs Opportunistic Colonoscopy Screening for CRC Detection After Acute Colonic Diverticulitis - the Diverticulitis Study
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Acute colonic diverticulitis is when a part of the colon gets swollen and inflamed. The diagnosis is based on a CT scan, which can show thickening of the colonic walls and infiltration of the diverticula. These changes and the concomitant symptoms can overlap with colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, the guidelines suggest that people with diverticulitis should be offered a colonoscopy to ensure, that CRC is not the underlying cause of the changes and symptoms. In Denmark, a lot of people get hospitalized each year due to diverticulitis, and many of them end up having colonoscopies with the purpose of excluding CRC. Currently, there are no methods for guiding colonoscopies following a diverticulitis episode, resulting in numerous unnecessary colonoscopies each year. In the Diverticulitis study, we want to investigate if a simple blood test analyzed for the presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), can help us decide who needs a colonoscopy. We will collect blood samples from 220 people with diverticulitis and categorize them into ctDNA positive and negative groups. The ctDNA category will be compared to the colonoscopy results to see if there is a correlation between being ctDNA positive and having a CRC diagnosed at the colonoscopy. This study could change clinical practice since we anticipate that ctDNA-guided triaging of diverticulitis patients is a cost-effective strategy for selecting diverticulitis patients needing colonoscopy, ensuring detection of the underlying CRC, and significantly reducing the number of patients undergoing unnecessary colonoscopy.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute Diverticulitis | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Colonic Diverticulitis | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Colorectal Cancer | Malignant Colorectal Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.80 |
Interventions
Interventions (0)
Data not yet available
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- label
- Controls
- description
- Patients diagnosed with diverticulitis through CT scan and scheduled for a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy must result in no detection of colorectal cancer.
- label
- Cases
- description
- Patients diagnosed with CRC immediately after an episode of diverticulitis.
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- ctDNA analysis
- timeFrame
- After recruitment of the last patient, we expect that ctDNA analyses can be performed within 6 months
- description
- Blood samples will be categorized as either ctDNA positive or negative
Secondary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Cost-effectiveness of treatment
- timeFrame
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * CT-verified diverticulitis eligible for a follow-up colonoscopy Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to provide oral and written informed consent * Recent colonic imaging and no need for renewed visualization of the colonic mucosa deemed by the attending doctor
References
Publications (5)
- BACKGROUNDAndersen JC, Bundgaard L, Elbrond H, Laurberg S, Walker LR, Stovring J; Danish Surgical Society. Danish national guidelines for treatment of diverticular disease. Dan Med J. 2012 May;59(5):C4453. PMID 22549495
- BACKGROUNDMeyer J, Orci LA, Combescure C, Balaphas A, Morel P, Buchs NC, Ris F. Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Patients With Acute Diverticulitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Jul;17(8):1448-1456.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.07.031. Epub 2018 Jul 26. PMID 30056181
- BACKGROUNDJensen SO, Ogaard N, Orntoft MW, Rasmussen MH, Bramsen JB, Kristensen H, Mouritzen P, Madsen MR, Madsen AH, Sunesen KG, Iversen LH, Laurberg S, Christensen IJ, Nielsen HJ, Andersen CL. Novel DNA methylation biomarkers show high sensitivity and specificity for blood-based detection of colorectal cancer-a clinical biomarker discovery and validation study. Clin Epigenetics. 2019 Nov 14;11(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s13148-019-0757-3. PMID 31727158
- BACKGROUNDJensen SO, Ogaard N, Nielsen HJ, Bramsen JB, Andersen CL. Enhanced Performance of DNA Methylation Markers by Simultaneous Measurement of Sense and Antisense DNA Strands after Cytosine Conversion. Clin Chem. 2020 Jul 1;66(7):925-933. doi: 10.1093/clinchem/hvaa100. PMID 32460325
- BACKGROUNDOgaard N, Reinert T, Henriksen TV, Frydendahl A, Aagaard E, Orntoft MW, Larsen MO, Knudsen AR, Mortensen FV, Andersen CL. Tumour-agnostic circulating tumour DNA analysis for improved recurrence surveillance after resection of colorectal liver metastases: A prospective cohort study. Eur J Cancer. 2022 Mar;163:163-176. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.12.026. Epub 2022 Jan 22. PMID 35074652