Bowel cancer breakthrough
May 21, 2012
AUSTRALIAN research is leading
the charge towards new testing
methods for bowel cancer, after a
team comprised of scientists from
the Australian biotechnology
company Clinical Genomics, CSIRO
and the Flinders Centre for
Innovation in Cancer, identified
new genes that show identifiable
changes in the blood of people
with bowel cancer.
One new gene identified, colon
adenocarcinoma hypermethylated
(CAHM), is particularly sensitive to
cancer, and was found in 120 blood
samples to have a high positivity for
cancers (68%) while still being
accurate in 97% of normal patients.
According to the Australian
research team, the genetic
discovery has the potential to
underpin a new cost-effective
blood test that would signal the
early stages of bowel cancer.
This three-gene test (including
CAHM) is currently under
development, and according to the
researchers, has the potential to
save thousands of lives by
supplementing existing screening
programs and encouraging those at
risk to have a colonoscopy.
The test is currently being trialled
with patients from Australia, the
United States and Europe, with
researchers saying that so far, it has
shown a high detection rate for
bowel cancer while also
demonstrating a false positive rate
of about 5% in samples drawn from
a high-risk population.
Results from the trials found that
the test was able to detect cancer
76% of the time with a 93%
accuracy in normal patients.
“One of the key questions is how
a test like this might complement
existing screening efforts in a costeffective
way to save even more
lives in the future,” said Senior
investigator, Professor Graeme
Young, from the Flinders Centre.
“The need now is to collaborate
more broadly with national and
international researchers committed
to translation of science innovation
to clinical outcomes, to help
validate these exciting findings in
large scale prospective studies,” he
added.
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