By Carol Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
Monday, February 12, 2024
Dutch researchers have developed a new stool test that appears to be able to detect colon polyps more accurately than current tests.
“Current tests work well, but there is still room for improvement,” said Dr. Gerrit Mayer, lead researcher at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.
“We hope to be able to detect tumors before they invade, at the stage of larger precancerous polyps,” he added in the institute’s news release. “The treating physician can then remove these polyps during a colonoscopy rather than surgery.”
Doing so could save thousands of lives around the world. Each year, an estimated 1.9 million people are diagnosed with colon cancer worldwide, and the disease claims 935,000 lives. If detected early, it can be cured.
Many countries with universal colon cancer screening programs use fecal immunochemical testing (FIT). Measures the presence of the blood protein hemoglobin.
Meyer and his team have been working on new tests for years. Their multi-target FIT test (mtFIT) measures hemoglobin and two other proteins.
In the February 9th issue, lancet oncologythey reported on a comparison of the two tests in over 13,000 participants of a Dutch national screening program.
“The new test can more effectively detect cancer precursors,” Meyer said. “Our results predict that this test could reduce the number of new colorectal cancer cases. [death rates] That’s what arose from that. ”
The new test is just as easy to use as the current test.
The current FIT test found abnormalities in 299 people, compared to 159 people. This difference was primarily related to high-risk cancer precursors.
“The new test detects larger polyps without significantly increasing ‘false-positive’ results and therefore unnecessary colonoscopies,” Meyer said.
It’s unclear how many colon cancers the new test can prevent. The researchers said it will depend on how countries use the current FIT test.
Based on the cutoffs used in the Netherlands, the new test could reduce colon cancer cases by 21% and deaths by 18%, Meyer said.
In countries that have already adopted lower cutoffs, this figure will be even lower. Meyer estimated that “at least 5% fewer people” would develop colon cancer and that mortality rates would drop by at least 4%.
“In either scenario, the new test could be cost-effective,” he said.
However, it is not immediately usable.
“The next important step is to perform the test on an industrial scale according to European diagnostic testing guidelines,” Meyer said.
To this end, a new company, CRCbioscreen, has been established.
Source: Netherlands Cancer Institute, News Release, February 9, 2024
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