al.ma. test: a new diagnostic method for the early detection of cancer of the colon and rectum.

摘要

The invention relates to a novel test for the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC),. The test measures the expression decrease of HtrA1 protein in plasma samples. Its application implies either the use of HtrA1 alone or in combination with the immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT). The latter application is called "combined test". The new test offers the advantage of affording greater sensitivity than the most reliable available fecal occult blood test (FOBT). It may be hypothesized that the test could be used for routine population-based CRC screening, either alone or combined, before patients who are positive for fecal occult blood are referred for colonoscopy.