Fecal DNA Assays Improving

Fecal DNA testing as a means of screening for colorectal cancer has received minimal use in the U.S. These assays have evolved as we have gained increasing knowledge about which markers are most informative.

Now, in a manufacturer-sponsored study, researchers have examined the performance of a new test panel that includes DNA markers (mutant KRAS; methylation in NDRG4, BMP3, vimentin, and TFP12) and a quantitative test for hemoglobin (HemoQuant). Colorectal neoplasm detection rates were assessed using stool samples from 252 patients with colorectal cancer, 133 with adenomas ≥1 cm, and 293 controls with normal colonoscopy results. Specimens were randomly assigned to a training set or a test set (samples from 456 and 222 patients, respectively…