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Colonoscopy offers advantages over other methods of screening for colorectal cancer, but it still yields both false-negative and false-positive results. False-negative findings often result from failure to detect flat (nonpolypoid) lesions, which are hard for endoscopists to see. To improve polyp detection, an international team developed a probe composed of a small molecule (peptide) that binds to a protein called c-Met and is attached to a fluorescent dye. c-Met is present in greater abundance on the cell surface of colorectal hyperplastic polyps and adenomas than it is on normal colorectal mucosa.
After toxicity and other studies showed no adverse effects of the probe in rats and monkeys, the team tested the probe in 15 patients at high r…