New Cancer Test May Catch Disease Earlier
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From Times staff and wire reports
An experimental test may eventually help doctors detect colo-rectal cancer more effectively and easily than current screening methods, according to a study in Saturday’s issue of Lancet.
The technique is able to detect a protein in the stool known as MCM2, which is produced by cancerous cells.
The protein was found in samples from 37 of 40 patients with colo-rectal cancer and none of the 25 patients without it, according to a study by Dr. Nicholas Coleman and his colleagues at the MRC Cancer Cell Unit in Cambridge, England.
Colo-rectal cancer is easily treated if caught early. However, many people resist testing, and the cancer is typically advanced before it is diagnosed.
