Goutham Sunny, Former Resident Doctor at The Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, shared a post on X about a paper by Melina A. McCabe et al. published in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology:
“Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening: Evolving Landscape.
CRC = 2nd leading cause of cancer death, 3rd most common globally. Begins as adenomatous/serrated polyps – Advanced precursor lesions (APLs) – invasive cancer. Goal of screening: Detect early-stage CRC and prevent cancer by removing precursors
Colonoscopy
Gold standard: highest sensitivity and specificity
Detects and removes precursors
Invasive, costly, burdensome – lower uptake
Stool-based tests
Non-invasive, user-friendly
Good for mass screening
Require follow-up colonoscopy if abnormal
Blood-based tests (cfDNA)
Easy and potentially boosts uptake
Poor detection of APLs – lower prevention capability
Key Insight:
Screening uptake is as vital as test accuracy
Innovation in biomarkers + non-invasive testing could enhance effectiveness
Need to balance detection, prevention, patient adherence and cost for optimal public health.”
Title: Novel colorectal cancer screening methods – opportunities and challenges
Authors: Melina A. McCabe, Anthony J. Mauro, Robert E. Schoen
You can read the Full Article in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.
More posts featuring Goutham Sunny.
