Now, a simple blood test to detect colon cancer

Washington, Nov 21 : Scientists from Tel Aviv University have developed a new blood test that can help detect colon cancer.

Lead researcher Prof. Nadir Arber, a professor of medicine and gastroenterology, at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine have developed a simple early-warning test that can detect colon cancer in the blood.

With the help of the biomarkers, this test can detect cells of colon polyps, the precursors to colon cancer in the blood, with a very high degree of sensitivity and accuracy.

People are often reluctant to undergo a routine but painfulolonoscopy ? but the consequences can be fatal

This painless, non-invasive and inexpensive test may help convince the patients to undergo colonoscopy

"If we can identify those who are prone to cancer through a less invasive test, we can convince them to do the colonoscopy, said Prof. Arber, who heads the Integrated Cancer Prevention Centre at the Tel Aviv Souraski Medical Centre.

With Prof. Arber's CD24 test, doctors will be able to screen patients for colon cancer quickly and easily as part of a routine blood test.

While not 100pct accurate, it will provide a convincing argument for patients to undergo the colonoscopy, and then polyp removal, if necessary.

Initial trials have shown that the test can correctly identify adenomas, the polyps that convert to colon cancer, at a success rate of more than 80pct.

It utilizes the fact that polyps in the colon emit biomarkers, which can be detected in the blood at very low levels.

ANI