Progress on Simple Test for Colon Cancer

Researchers have announced progress in detecting colon cancer or pre-cancers using a stool or blood test. If proven effective, they could be an alternative to the more invasive tests thought to be best now. And that could encourage more people to get tested. Colonoscopy, the most recommended test now, involves threading a tube with an attached camera into the colon. The new stool test comes from Exact Sciences, of Madison, Wis. It looks for hidden blood, a chemical change and differences (mutations) in specific genes. The blood test looks for changes in a single gene. It comes from the German company Epigenomics AG. Results of both tests were reported at conferences. The stool test was tried on samples from people who also had colonoscopies. It detected 64% of the polyps that can grow into cancer and 85% of the cancers.