Trial results for a study investigating culturally tailored interventions to increase Colorectal Cancer screening in Alaska Native men were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-08-29. The study found that a raffle incentive led to 19 participants completing colorectal cancer screening, compared to 11 in the control group.
Background
Alaska Native men experience the highest rates of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in the United States. Colorectal cancer screening is a vital tool for disease prevention and improving survival outcomes. A prior study explored the use of text messages to enhance colorectal cancer screening among Alaska Native patients within the Southcentral Foundation healthcare system in Anchorage, Alaska. While this intervention successfully improved screening rates by 50% in women, it did not show a similar effect in men. The current study was designed to develop and test a culturally tailored intervention specifically for Alaska Native men through a randomized controlled trial at the Southcentral Foundation.
Trial design
This completed study, identified as Phase NA, enrolled 998 participants with Colorectal Cancer. The trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of culturally tailored interventions, including text messages, gift cards, and raffles, in increasing colorectal cancer screening rates among Alaska Native men. Participants were randomized into four groups: Control, Messages, Gift Card, and Raffle. The primary focus of the results was the number of participants who completed colorectal cancer screening and the number who scheduled a screening-related visit.
Key results
The trial results focused on two main outcomes related to colorectal cancer screening among Alaska Native men:
- Number of Participants Who Completed Colorectal Cancer Screening:
- In the Control group, 11 participants completed screening out of 239 participants in the group.
- In the Messages group, 16 participants completed screening out of 234 participants in the group.
- In the Gift Card group, 18 participants completed screening out of 230 participants in the group.
- In the Raffle group, 19 participants completed screening out of 231 participants in the group.
- Number of Participants Who Scheduled a Screening-related Visit:
- In the Control group, 8 participants scheduled a screening-related visit.
- In the Messages group, 20 participants scheduled a screening-related visit.
- In the Gift Card group, 18 participants scheduled a screening-related visit.
- In the Raffle group, 17 participants scheduled a screening-related visit.
What this means
The findings suggest that culturally tailored interventions, particularly those incorporating incentives such as raffles or gift cards, may be more effective in encouraging colorectal cancer screening completion among Alaska Native men compared to text message-based interventions alone or no intervention. The raffle group showed the highest number of completed screenings, indicating that such incentives could play a significant role in improving public health outcomes in this population. Additionally, the 'Messages' and 'Gift Card' groups demonstrated higher rates of scheduling screening-related visits compared to the control, suggesting these interventions can also motivate initial engagement with screening services.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT06436300, titled "Colorectal Cancer Screening in Alaska Native Men", were posted on 2025-08-29 on clinicaltrials.gov.