Clinical Oncology News - Stool DNA Test Promising for Colorectal Screening

Clinical Oncology News - Stool DNA Test Promising for Colorectal Screening

"Stool DNA testing is moving the colorectal cancer (CRC) screening field a step closer to eradicating the disease, according to David Ahlquist, MD, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., who helped develop this approach and presented recent findings at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.


Stool DNA testing detects tumor-specific DNA alterations in cells that are continually being shed into the stool from precancerous and cancerous lesions. The test is now being developed by Exact Sciences, a molecular diagnostics company in Madison, Wis.

The broad application of stool DNA testing in longitudinal screening programs is to prevent CRC through high precancer detection. In an invited lecture, Dr. Ahlquist said this claim is “not too bold and not hyperbole.” New-generation stool DNA testing, he said, offers “extraordinarily” high detection rates for curable cancers and precancers that are likely to progress. The test detects lesions on both sides of the colon with equal accuracy and reveals flat or serrated polyps likely to be missed by both fecal occult blood test and colonoscopy.
The noninvasive DNA test involves no diet or medication restrictions, no bowel preparation and is done at home using a stool sample. “It is user-friendly, affordable and offers individuals unlimited access by mail,” he added............