American scientists have developed a method for early detection of colon cancer through a blood test. This is the principle of analyzing DNA fragments floating in the blood./Pixabay
It has become possible to detect colon cancer early through a blood test. The principle is to analyze DNA fragments floating in the blood.
A joint research team including Harvard University Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic conducted a blood test on 7,861 patients who underwent colonoscopy for suspected colon cancer, with an accuracy rate of around 87% It was revealed that colon cancer was detected early. The results of this study were published in the international academic journal ‘New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)’ on the 14th.
Early detection of colon cancer can reduce the risk of death by up to 73%. Currently, in hospitals, when an abnormal area is found during a colonoscopy, tissue is removed directly and tested for cancer (tissue biopsy). Although it is an accurate method, it is very demanding as it requires regular colonoscopy. In addition, young people in their 40s and younger tend not to have a colonoscopy. For this reason, scientists around the world have developed liquid biopsy technology to detect cancer early with just a blood test.
Pieces of DNA that have been broken off from cancerous tissue or clumps of cells (polyps) that may turn into cancer in the future can travel through the body via the bloodstream. The research team carried out a ‘cell-free DNA blood test’ to find evidence of colon cancer by analyzing ‘cell-free DNA (cfDNA)’.
As a result, 83.1% of the participants were found to have colon cancer. Compared to the results of their colonoscopy and tissue biopsy, the accuracy for stages 1 to 3, which correspond to early and middle stages of cancer, was 87.5%. The accuracy of detecting polyps before they became cancer was 13.2%. The researchers explained that people suspected of having cancer as a result of this blood test can directly check and remove the tumor through colonoscopy.
Although it can be useful in the early detection of colon cancer, it still has limitations in finding polyps. This is because the probability of finding polyps using current methods is as high as 43% through stool tests and 94% through colonoscopy. Polyps are not harmful to health, but some of them can become cancerous later, so most polyps are removed when they are detected during a test.
Barbara Chung, president of the American Gastroenterology Association and dean of the University of Washington School of Medicine, said in the New York Times on the 13th (local time), “This test will be useful for the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer in primary hospitals . , who are always pressed for time due to the large number of patients.” “However, the possibility of finding a polyp is relatively low, so we need to fully communicate with the patient which is not very helpful in preventing colon cancer,” he said.
reference material
NEJM(2024), DOI:
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