Positive Result for New Australian DNA Blood Test for Bowel Cancer
SYDNEY, May 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/--Digestive Diseases Week, Chicago USA: A team of Australian scientists has presented evidence that a new blood test for bowel cancer based on two genes that “leak” into the blood can detect 65% of bowel cancer cases.
The successful detection rate increased to 73% for cancers that are Stage II or higher.
The data were presented in Chicago at the Digestive Diseases Week (DDW) conference by Professor Graeme Young from the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer at Flinders University in Adelaide.
According to Professor Young, the test could be a candidate for population screening in the future and its sensitivity for cancer justifies prospective evaluation in a large screening population.
“A blood test is likely to overcome some of the barriers to screening with faecal tests. It might prove to be acceptable to those failing to participate in screening using established methods, which at the moment are primarily based around faecal tests,” said Professor Young.
Australian biotechnology company Clinical Genomics co-developed the test with CSIRO and the new test has been clinically validated in collaboration with the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer at Flinders University.
Dr Larry LaPointe, CEO of Clinical Genomics, is a co-author of the presentation and says he looks forward to commercialising the test in the future.
“The test is covered by a range of pending patents and these new data give reason to be optimistic about the prospect of improving screening rates by providing another option for people who can’t or won’t screen for bowel cancer using home-based tests,” said Dr LaPointe.
According to Dr LaPointe, the test could be available in Australia on a “user pays” basis as soon as early spring 2014.
The results were based on blood specimens collected at an Australian and Dutch hospital from more than 2,000 volunteers who were scheduled for colonoscopy or for bowel surgery.
References:
1. Evaluation of a 2-gene (IKZF1 and BCAT1) DNA blood test for detection of colorectal cancer. Young GP, Pedersen SK, Dekker E, Cole SR, Osborne JM, Symonds E, Mallant-Hent R, McEvoy A, Baker R, Gaur S, Murray D, LaPointe LC. Presented at Digestive Diseases Week on 3rd May 2014.
For more information contact:
Martin Palin (martin@palin.com.au; +61418 419 258) at Palin Communications (+612 9412 2255).
SOURCE Clinical Genomics
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