Detection of colon polyps by a novel, polymer pattern-based full blood test

Detection of colon polyps by a novel, polymer pattern-based full blood test

Numerous studies have shown that early screening for the presence of pre-cancerous colon polyps and their subsequent removal decreases the risk of developing colon cancer. Colonoscopy is currently the most effective screening method, but due to the invasive nature of the procedure many patients avoid forgo testing. 
Furthermore, the procedure itself requires perfect execution by the gastroenterologist. Against this backdrop, a non-invasive blood screening method for the detection of colon polyps that has higher sensitivity than current screening techniques would be beneficial in the early identification of patients at risk for colon cancer.

Luis I. Gomez and his team have developed an innovative technique to detect colon polyps indicative of colorectal cancer. The key point of this technique is that it’s made by a blood test, it is not an invasive technique, an obvious advantage in this kind of cancer because might imply an improvement on early diagnosis rates. Another step in the fight against this terrible disease.
A prospective, double-blinded, controlled clinical study was designed to demonstrate the diagnostic performance of Polyp Specific Polymer analysis, a novel laboratory methodology.

PSP analysis could be carried out in 202 patients and revealed 114 patients with a negative result (48.9%) and 88 patients with a positive result (37.8%) with colon polyp specific structures identified, as shown in the picture. Missing and unclear results were detected in 31 cases (13.3%).


Source and further reading:
http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/11/1/278

Image: Example findings representing structures considered typical for polyps (original magnification 25x)
(a) shows all connected structures while (b) shows the brim.