WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a groundbreaking study, published in the journal Gut, the scientists believe that a new method would accurately detect colon cancer risk in individuals, helping them to take necessary precautions.
At present, numerous people living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's are unaware of their chances to develop colon cancer in the future. The present detection methods have a low accuracy in predicting the pre-cancerous growth in the body.
Professor Trevor Graham, from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), which co-led the research, said, 'Most people with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease won't develop bowel cancer.'
'But for those that have these conditions and are showing signs of pre-cancer in their colon, there are some tough decisions to make.'
'Either they have it monitored regularly, in the hope that it doesn't become cancer, or they have their bowel removed to guarantee they don't get cancer in the future. Neither of these options are particularly pleasant.'
To develop the innovative method, Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research worked with St Mark's Hospital to get samples of pre-cancerous cells from 122 patients living with irritable bowel diseases.
'Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than people without IBD, and need to undergo assessment with regular colonoscopies to try to detect early signs of cancer. These tests are onerous and unpleasant for patients, imperfect at detecting early cancer changes and costly to health services,' study co-lead Professor Ailsa Hart said.
'If early signs of cancer are detected, surgery, which involves removing the colon, is advocated. Finding smarter ways to assess these colons is much needed.'
The scientists conducted full DNA scan of the samples to look for unnecessary changes in the structure and number of copies in the DNA. They noted that people who developed irritable bowel diseases had lost several copies of their DNA. Of the total participants, half of them developed bowel cancer within the next five years, whereas the other half enjoyed a cancer-free life.
'Getting a full readout of tumour DNA means we can see a much bigger picture of how someone's cancer started and how it is likely to change over time,' executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, Dr Iain Foulkes, commented.
'With this research, we can focus resources on treating people with IBD who are at really high risk, saving health services valuable time and money.'
'We can also give those at lower risk peace of mind and remove the fear of bowel cancer in the future.'
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