New Blood Test for Colon Cancer Developed

(HealthDay News) -- Seeking to increase screenings for colorectal cancer, scientists say they have developed an inexpensive and effective method that uses less than one milliliter (mL) of a patient's blood.

In trials, the new approach -- referred to as a microRNA -- has successfully detected disease in patients already diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Next, the research team will launch screening tests among a larger group of patients who show symptoms of the disease. These patients will also undergo colonoscopies, which will be used to confirm the new diagnostic tool's effectiveness.

"Our test has the potential to be safe, cheap, robust, accurate and of little or no inconvenience to the individual, and could, therefore, easily be integrated into national screening programs as part of an annual checkup," study author Dr. Soren Jensby Nielsen, a scientific manager with Denmark-based Exiqon A/S, said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research. Read more...

Immunice for Immune Support