Pharmacy Daily | Bowel cancer breakthrough

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.

---

The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 May 12
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 21 May 12