Friday,Dec.24,2004
 Breaking News

Fecal DNA test useful for cancer detection
www.chinaview.cn 2004-12-24 14:49:26

    BEIJING, Dec. 24 -- The test that detects mutated tumor DNA
in feces may be a promising method of finding colorectal A
non-invasive test that detects mutated tumor DNA in feces may be a
useful method of screening for colorectal cancer.cancer, a new research
shows.
    The study, conducted by Dr. Thomas F. Imperiale at the
Indiana University School of Medicine and colleagues, checked some 4400
average-risk adults age 50 or older.
    Two methods were used: one was a standard test (Hemoccult
II) that detects hidden blood in stool, the other was the new fecal DNA
test, as well as "gold standard" colonoscopy.
    They compared test results in a randomly selected group of
2500 participants in the study.
    The Hemoccult II detected only 4 of the 31 cancers, while
over half (16 of 31) of all invasive colorectal cancers were detected,
the team reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
    "The fecal DNA test was better than the Hemoccult II, the
current standard non-invasive screening test," Dr. Imperiale was quoted
as saying by Reuters Health.
    Moreover, the fecal DNA test was more than twice as
sensitive as the Hemoccult II test for detecting pre-cancerous tumors.
    But numerous questions only alow fecal DNA test as a
"potentially smarter strategy".
    For instance, the price tag for fecal DNA testing is $400 to
$800 compared with a cost of $3 to $40 for fecal occult blood testing.
Enditem

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