by Greg P
A study from the Annals of Internal Medicine found that a DNA test will yield better and more accurate results in determining colon cancer. This means instead of blood in stool samples, doctors look at the DNA inside of those samples. Dr. David A. Ahlquist, a professor of medicine, and a gastroenterology consultant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, explained that “blood as a marker for colon cancer has limitations.” When looking at all precancerous polyps, Ahlquist explained that the polyps “shed cells that contain abnormal DNA. So, a stool-based DNA test is a strategically more rational approach.” This finding does not mean that going for a colonoscopy will be meaningless, because that test is still currently the most effective treatment in detecting colon cancer. However, this new technique will make it less invasive and easier to be tested.
I found this article to be very interesting. Both of my parents have had at least one colonoscopy, with my father just having one recently. Both of them hated going for them because the procedure is relatively easy, but the preparation for the test is extremely awful. As discussed in class, this is one of many new ways to screen for colon cancer. I hope that more accurate and less invasive ways of screening for colon cancer will continue to be developed. I say this because I know that in about thirty years from now, I will have to be tested and I dread the thought of having to go through the preparation that exists now to check for polyps.
Source of Article:
•http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,434946,00.html?sPage=fnc/health/men
•http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/149/7/441
