Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colon cancer screening and prevention. It is effective for catching colon cancer early, when it is most curable. There's only one problem: Many people don't get colonoscopy, because they are afraid of it. This is why finding a less invasive way to detect colon cancer is an urgent health care need.
Promise in Poop
The phrase - "promise in poop" - may sound funny, but it represents exciting new research on colon cancer screening. Mayo clinic researchers have detailed a non-invasive way for colon cancer detection. Best yet, it is more effective than the standard fecal occult blood test (FOBT).
Decoding DNA
In a standard FOBT, a stool sample is analyzed for the presence of blood. Blood can signal that something is wrong in the colon or rectum. This includes finding cancer or precancerous polyps or adenomas. FOBT is less invasive than colonoscopy, but unfortunately it isn't as effective at finding cancer.
This is where the new test comes in. The test is similar to FOBT. It uses a stool sample to help find cancer. But instead of looking for blood, the new stool DNA test looks for abnormal DNA. The DNA is genetic material and is shed by precancerous and cancer cells. It looks different from the DNA that is shed from healthy colon and rectum cells.
Good Detection Rates
By looking for the abnormal DNA, the researchers were able to detect five out of five cases of colon cancer (100%) and four out of five cases of precancerous growths (90%) in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). People with IBD are at increased risk of colon cancer compared with the general population.
In a related study, the stool DNA testing detected 71% of serrated colorectal polyps, compared to a 7% detection rate with FOBT. Serrated colorectal polyps increase colon cancer risk. Detecting them before they become cancerous and spread beyond the colon is important for preventing deaths from colon cancer.
Talk to Your Doctor
Stool DNA tests are not commonly offered to the general population for colon cancer screening and detection. As more research like the Mayo study prove it's worth, this less invasive option for colon cancer detection may be offered to more people Ask your doctor for more information about whether you are a good candidate for stool DNA testing.
