GeneNews introduces new cancer screening test

According to the company, ColonSentry is the world’s first blood-based test that assesses a patient’s current risk of having colorectal cancer, identifying those in the asymptomatic general population with increased risk who might benefit from further more invasive diagnostic testing such as colonoscopy.

This risk stratification is said to allow for a more targeted application of colonoscopy which could increase the detection rate of colorectal cancer by as much as three fold in an asymptomatic general population. The test requires a simple blood sample. The mRNA expression of a panel of seven specific genes is measured at the molecular level by quantitative RT-PCR which results in an assessment of the patient’s current risk.

ColonSentry will be performed at the company’s laboratory facilities in Richmond Hill, Canada and is the first in a series of blood-based molecular tests based on the company’s platform technology, the Sentinel Principle.

Lawrence Cohen, director of Gastroenterology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, said: “By using this risk assessment tool as the first step in a regular screening program, information obtained with ColonSentry will result in better decision making by doctors and their patients regarding next steps in the colorectal cancer screening process and ultimately help identify the presence of this cancer in patients at a curable stage.”