Johns Hopkins University researchers are developing a simple blood test that can help doctors determine who needs a colonoscopy, which is a screening procedure for colon cancer recommended for all adults over the age of 50 but one considered so unpleasant that many avoid it.
The new test, which looks for cancer-related proteins in the blood, identifies colon cancer and precancerous polyps almost as well as a colonoscopy, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Research.
The authors say their test won’t replace colonoscopies but might provide a noninvasive means of identifying high-risk patients – and an incentive for them to undergo the more invasive procedure.
“Part of what we are trying to do here is use blood markers for cancer like we do cholesterol levels to predict heart-disease risk,” said Robert H. Getzenberg, a cancer researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and lead author of the paper.
The blood test might also reduce the overall number of people who need a colonoscopy by screening out low-risk patients.
“Someone at high risk should have the test right away, while someone who tests negative may not need to be looked at for another year,” Getzenberg said.
