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Condition (MeSH)

Digestive System Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 46,207 trials for Digestive System Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. National Cancer Institute (NCI) has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 504.

MeSH D004066 Digestive System Diseases C06
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Phase 1 Phase 1 4,397 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 1,982 Phase 2 Phase 2 7,949 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 729 Phase 3 Phase 3 3,769 Phase 4 Phase 4 2,456 Not applicable Not applicable 12,587 Observational Observational 12,218 Phase 1 Phase 1 4,397 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 1,982 Phase 2 Phase 2 7,949 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 729 Phase 3 Phase 3 3,769 Phase 4 Phase 4 2,456 Not applicable Not applicable 12,587 Observational Observational 12,218

Trials per phase

2 more sections with rows

406 of the 46,207 trials are tagged with Digestive System Diseases itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Digestive System Diseases report as a PDF

The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Digestive System Diseases trials start? (37)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 85 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational
  • Other (Expanded access, Unknown)

Top of scale: 2,854

1990: 8 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 1, Phase 1 1) 1991: 10 trials (Observational 7, Phase 3 2, Phase 2 1) 1992: 14 trials (Observational 5, Phase 3 3, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 2) 1993: 25 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 1, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 14, Phase 2 2, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 1994: 24 trials (Observational 5, Not applicable 1, Phase 3 11, Phase 2 6, Phase 1 1) 1995: 44 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 9, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 11, Phase 1 9) 1996: 56 trials (Observational 12, Not applicable 6, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 3, Phase 2 17, Phase 1 5) 1997: 80 trials (Observational 11, Not applicable 11, Phase 3 19, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 9, Phase 1 14) 1998: 114 trials (Observational 22, Not applicable 11, Phase 4 3, Phase 3 18, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 33, Phase 1/2 5, Phase 1 20) 1999: 149 trials (Observational 31, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 4, Phase 3 25, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 47, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 16) 2000: 243 trials (Observational 52, Not applicable 20, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 50, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 70, Phase 1/2 15, Phase 1 27) 2001: 285 trials (Observational 46, Not applicable 22, Phase 4 10, Phase 3 58, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 94, Phase 1/2 18, Phase 1 32) 2002: 388 trials (Observational 64, Not applicable 29, Phase 4 45, Phase 3 76, Phase 2/3 11, Phase 2 124, Phase 1/2 13, Phase 1 26) 2003: 520 trials (Other 2, Observational 75, Not applicable 61, Phase 4 51, Phase 3 97, Phase 2/3 15, Phase 2 151, Phase 1/2 34, Phase 1 34) 2004: 634 trials (Other 1, Observational 121, Not applicable 68, Phase 4 59, Phase 3 107, Phase 2/3 16, Phase 2 173, Phase 1/2 37, Phase 1 52) 2005: 815 trials (Other 1, Observational 145, Not applicable 112, Phase 4 90, Phase 3 132, Phase 2/3 17, Phase 2 211, Phase 1/2 36, Phase 1 71) 2006: 1,047 trials (Observational 188, Not applicable 155, Phase 4 88, Phase 3 179, Phase 2/3 26, Phase 2 268, Phase 1/2 38, Phase 1 105) 2007: 1,161 trials (Other 1, Observational 251, Not applicable 197, Phase 4 116, Phase 3 150, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 264, Phase 1/2 48, Phase 1 109) 2008: 1,251 trials (Observational 280, Not applicable 221, Phase 4 111, Phase 3 166, Phase 2/3 21, Phase 2 258, Phase 1/2 64, Phase 1 130) 2009: 1,400 trials (Observational 316, Not applicable 281, Phase 4 97, Phase 3 129, Phase 2/3 26, Phase 2 275, Phase 1/2 78, Phase 1 198) 2010: 1,461 trials (Other 1, Observational 369, Not applicable 299, Phase 4 101, Phase 3 128, Phase 2/3 32, Phase 2 294, Phase 1/2 66, Phase 1 171) 2011: 1,562 trials (Observational 392, Not applicable 308, Phase 4 115, Phase 3 175, Phase 2/3 28, Phase 2 307, Phase 1/2 63, Phase 1 174) 2012: 1,628 trials (Observational 430, Not applicable 390, Phase 4 115, Phase 3 160, Phase 2/3 25, Phase 2 292, Phase 1/2 65, Phase 1 151) 2013: 1,675 trials (Observational 414, Not applicable 458, Phase 4 130, Phase 3 155, Phase 2/3 27, Phase 2 261, Phase 1/2 66, Phase 1 164) 2014: 1,792 trials (Observational 444, Not applicable 468, Phase 4 127, Phase 3 183, Phase 2/3 35, Phase 2 266, Phase 1/2 74, Phase 1 195) 2015: 1,988 trials (Observational 514, Not applicable 567, Phase 4 142, Phase 3 180, Phase 2/3 42, Phase 2 289, Phase 1/2 73, Phase 1 181) 2016: 2,078 trials (Other 1, Observational 517, Not applicable 668, Phase 4 133, Phase 3 167, Phase 2/3 34, Phase 2 285, Phase 1/2 86, Phase 1 187) 2017: 2,233 trials (Observational 618, Not applicable 714, Phase 4 115, Phase 3 142, Phase 2/3 27, Phase 2 317, Phase 1/2 96, Phase 1 204) 2018: 2,280 trials (Other 1, Observational 668, Not applicable 700, Phase 4 103, Phase 3 169, Phase 2/3 32, Phase 2 314, Phase 1/2 102, Phase 1 191) 2019: 2,440 trials (Observational 708, Not applicable 775, Phase 4 90, Phase 3 122, Phase 2/3 32, Phase 2 403, Phase 1/2 108, Phase 1 202) 2020: 2,405 trials (Observational 750, Not applicable 750, Phase 4 82, Phase 3 133, Phase 2/3 20, Phase 2 341, Phase 1/2 101, Phase 1 228) 2021: 2,678 trials (Observational 821, Not applicable 848, Phase 4 86, Phase 3 141, Phase 2/3 32, Phase 2 389, Phase 1/2 96, Phase 1 265) 2022: 2,671 trials (Observational 823, Not applicable 887, Phase 4 81, Phase 3 108, Phase 2/3 42, Phase 2 387, Phase 1/2 112, Phase 1 231) 2023: 2,784 trials (Other 1, Observational 824, Not applicable 944, Phase 4 92, Phase 3 116, Phase 2/3 35, Phase 2 404, Phase 1/2 111, Phase 1 257) 2024: 2,854 trials (Observational 864, Not applicable 920, Phase 4 85, Phase 3 119, Phase 2/3 38, Phase 2 461, Phase 1/2 114, Phase 1 253) 2025: 2,598 trials (Observational 739, Not applicable 810, Phase 4 71, Phase 3 139, Phase 2/3 39, Phase 2 446, Phase 1/2 108, Phase 1 246)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 2,349
2025 2,598
2024 2,854
2023 2,784
2022 2,671
2021 2,678
2020 2,405
2019 2,440
2018 2,280
2017 2,233

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 2,900 trials starting in 2026 and about 2,700 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward, with about 0.7 times the starts already registered for the rest of 2026 added. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 10 percent and ran about 4 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 25 percent and ran about 15 percent low against the count later registered, and had about 7 percent more error than repeating last year's count. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. A stricter check that trains only on older years did not support adding planned starts for conditions of this size: it ran about 6 percent high against the count later registered. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 36 months from start to primary completion across 4,517 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 26 months across 25,865 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Digestive System Diseases trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 4,397
Phase 1/2 1,982
Phase 2 7,949
Phase 2/3 729
Phase 3 3,769
Phase 4 2,456
Not applicable 12,587
Observational 12,218
Expanded access 116
Unknown 4

How many Digestive System Diseases trials are recruiting? (12)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 2,345
Recruiting 5,843
Enrolling by invitation 357
Active, not recruiting 1,825
Available 23

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Digestive System Diseases trials? (7)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
National Cancer Institute (NCI) 504
GlaxoSmithKline 357
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC 318
Hoffmann-La Roche 309
AstraZeneca 290

Which drugs are being tested for Digestive System Diseases? (9)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
OXALIPLATIN 868
"Capecitabine" 720
Irinotecan 559
Calcium Leucovorin 501
CETUXIMAB 366

Interventions as named in the registry (6)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Fluorouracile 843
Gemcitabine/Gemzar 695
Bevacizumab 1 611
Ribavirine 559
Cisplatin 1 421

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Digestive System Diseases trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Pneumonia 5,458 1,055
Abdominal pain 4,836 1,036
Vomiting 4,711 1,042
Pyrexia 4,136 797
Diarrhoea 3,755 626

Which publications cover Digestive System Diseases? (152)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Sub-conditions in MeSH (8)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.

Browse all condition evidence pages