Colon Cancer, Rectal Cancer Research and Clinical Trials

At Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, research and participation in clinical trials is an important part of who we are and what we do. Clinical trials and research studies into advancing and improving treatment of colorectal cancers are being conducted virtually every day.

Trials and studies are continually opening and closing, and it’s best to check with your physician to find out what studies are currently enrolling patients and whether any may be appropriate for you.

View All Gastrointestinal Cancer Clinical Trials

Studies to Refine Treatment for Colorectal Cancers

Medical College of Wisconsin physicians in the Colorectal Cancer Program have participated in separate clinical research to help standardize IMRT — Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for anal and rectal cancer patients. Such research helps define a shared set of treatment guidelines for hospitals across the country.

Our physicians have also participated in numerous studies to help further refine the best ways to use the available chemotherapy drugs to treat colorectal cancers. These clinical trials have looked at when to give chemotherapy whether before or after surgery, with or separate from radiation, in what doses and in what combinations with each other, with targeted agents or with radiation. Such research helps physicians make the most of the chemotherapy drugs currently available and helps physicians understand how to tailor the chemotherapy treatment to each individual patient.

Clinical trials can help confirm—or disprove—emerging treatment approaches that may seem promising. A treatment approach that’s helpful in one disease setting doesn't always work well in another disease setting. In fact, some proposed chemotherapy combinations have been shown to be detrimental in certain cases through clinical research. That’s just one reason why we continually search for new treatment approaches.

We also track of how we care for patients and the outcomes of the treatments we use. That’s part of our academic commitment to sharing ideas and contributing to advancements across specialties.