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ASCO GI: Blood Test Detects Colorectal Cancer

ORLANDO -- A novel blood test that measures CD24 protein levels may detect early colorectal cancer and precancerous adenomas, researchers found.

The investigational assay had 78.4%% sensitivity and 86.8% specificity for distinguishing patients with colorectal adenoma or cancer from healthy controls in a study led by Sarah Kraus, PhD, of Tel Aviv Souraski Medical Center in Israel.

Further validation for the biomarker would be needed before considering clinical use in surveillance, they cautioned here at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

But the results were exciting and could represent "a very significant advance," commented Robert P. Sticca, MD, of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

"It looks like it may be a very reliable marker for not only the early detection of colon cancer and even precancerous conditions, but also could be used for follow-up for patients who previously had cancer for recurrence," he said as moderator of a press briefing at which the results were discussed.

Colorectal cancer screening is effective, with early detection and treatment shown to improve survival.

However, colorectal cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage with poor prognosis, in part because of poor uptake of colonoscopy, Kraus said at the press briefing.

Unfortunately, there are no sufficiently accurate blood-based screening tests, he noted, although there have been attempts to develop them.

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