The Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery has a strong commitment to medical and scientific research with ongoing collaborative projects that focus on state-of-the art research related to colorectal surgery.

Active research studies

  • Study of medications for the treatment of postoperative ileus in patients undergoing laparotomy for large bowel resection (closed to accrual)
  • Several molecular studies to help determine patients at high risk for cancer recurrence
  • Timing of rectal cancer response to chemoradiation (closed to accrual)
  • Crohn’s tissue bank and database
  • Hereditary colon and rectal database
  • Statin polyp prevention trial in patients with resected colon cancer
  • ROLARR: A study of the efficacy of robotic vs. laparoscopic surgery

The section also engages in collaborative projects on the genetics of colorectal cancer and its therapies and the CREATE (Comprehensive Research on Expressed Alleles in Therapeutic Evaluation) Pharmacogenetics Research Network at Washington University School of Medicine. For more information, visit the CREATE website.

Learn more about research on the Volunteer for Health website.