Types of Screening Tests to Detect Colorectal Cancer
March is colon cancer awareness month, and we at St. Jude Labs are committed to doing everything we can to lessen the destruction of this deadly disease. Colon cancer is the 3rd most common cancer in the United state’s affecting both males and females, which can lead to untimely death if untreated. While there is much that can be done to combat colorectal cancer, raising awareness about the importance of routine colon cancer screening is vital . If detected early enough, the 5-year survival rate for colorectal cancer can be as high as 91% compared to 14% when it’s detected at a more advanced stage. In other words, there would be far more colorectal cancer survivors if routine colorectal cancer screening was more common.
With that in mind, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the screening tests for detecting colorectal cancer that are available to patients today.
Routine screening for colon cancer is now recommended from the age of 45 years.
Tests Used for Colorectal Cancer Screening
Today, physicians rely on a variety of tests to detect cancerous cells in a patient’s colon, including:
Stool Tests
The ability to screen for colorectal cancer using only a stool sample has made colorectal cancer screening far more convenient for patients who wish to get tested. There are currently three main types of colorectal cancer stool tests that have been approved by the FDA: gFOBT tests, FIT tests, and FIT-DNA tests.
gFOBT tests use chemical reactions to detect colorectal cancer markers, FIT tests use antibodies to detect these markers, and FIT-DNA tests use both antibodies as well as the analysis of DNA biomarkers.
The gFOBT and FIT test can be done once an year. However the FIT-DNA test or the Stool DNA test can be done at once every 3 years.
Colonoscopy
If colorectal cancer markers are detected using a stool test, conducting an inspection and potential biopsy via a colonoscopy is the next step that most physicians take. For those unfamiliar with the procedure, a colonoscopy entails inserting a flexible tube through the patient’s rectum. This tube is equipped with both a camera for performing a visual inspection of the colon as well as a tool for removing tissue for biopsy. This biopsied tissue can then be thoroughly tested for the presence of cancerous cells.
Sigmoidoscopy
A sigmoidoscopy is quite similar to a colonoscopy, save for the fact that a colonoscopy is designed to examine the entire colon while a sigmoidoscopy is designed to only examine the rectum and sigmoid colon. A sigmoidoscopy is also less invasive than a colonoscopy, and patients typically do not need to be sedated for this procedure.
Virtual Colonoscopy
A virtual colonoscopy utilizes a CT scanner to produce pictures of a patient’s colon without requiring a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy to be performed. While one drawback of virtual colonoscopies is the fact that they are prone to miss smaller polyps. However, this drawback is at least somewhat mitigated by the fact that small polyps are less likely to become cancerous.
Blood-Based DNA Test
A blood-based DNA test, also known as a liquid biopsy, is a test that is designed to detect an altered gene called SEPT9. While blood-based DNA tests have been approved by FDA for patients over 45 who are at average risk of colorectal cancer, there are not yet any studies showing that this form of testing is able to reduce colorectal cancer death rates.
Schedule Colorectal Cancer Screening From St. Jude Labs
Our mission at St. Jude Labs for this colon cancer awareness month is to make colorectal cancer screening as accessible as possible to our patients. Talk to your physician or provider to see if you are eligible for colon cancer screening. To learn more about scheduling a colorectal cancer screening appointment with the medical testing professional at St. Jude Labs, be sure to contact us today.
