Blood tests to identify bowel and stomach cancers

Researchers have found chemicals in the blood that are raised when a patient develops tumors. One of the blood tests has been found to be up to 80 percent effective in identifying bowel cancer.

Identifying cancers will be made uncomplicated with the help of these tests. This will, in turn, result in early diagnosis of the disease and improve the survival chances of such patients, the researchers revealed.

For conducting the latest trial, scientists compared blood samples of 193 patients suffering from colorectal cancer with those of 688 healthy patients.

Dr Joost Louwagie, from the company OncoMethylome Sciences, in Liège, Belgium, who developed the new test, said, “This new test will not replace colonoscopy, but provide a way of screening a larger part of the population in a more patient-friendly and non-invasive manner so that more cancers are detected and treated successfully.”

The company is hoping that it will be able to complete the trial tests in another 7,000 patients by the end of this year.

New tests are non-invasive
Bowel cancer is normally diagnosed with the help of colonoscopy. The procedure involves a tiny camera that examines the inside of the colon.

The disease can also be identified by doctors after looking for blood in stool samples. However, most of the patients do not like this procedure and find it off-putting.

Dr Louwagie was quoted as saying, “Once validated in a prospective colorectal screening trial, the new test could be used as a non-invasive screening option for patients who decline or do not have access to colonoscopy or do not wish to undertake the faecal occult blood test.”

He further added, “The blood sample can be taken by nurses or primary care doctors without the need for special equipment or training, leading to higher rates of patient compliance and the identification of patients needing the more expensive and diagnostic colonoscopy procedure.”

Another similar study
In another related study, researchers from Germany disclosed a blood test that could help in diagnosing tumors in patients suffering from colon, rectal, or gastric cancers.

Professor Ulrike Stein, from the ECRC Charité University of Medicine, and the Max-Delbrueck-Centre for Molecular Medicine, both based in Berlin, said that the test could also forecast the probability of the disease spreading.

The new study findings will be presented at the ECCO 15 – ESMO 34 cancer conference in Berlin today.