Olfat Khannous Lleiffe and Toni Gabaldón, predoctoral researcher and director, respectively, of the comparative genomics group of the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación, lead a project that applies an innovative approach for the early detection of colorectal cancer, the second most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide.
Current screening systems consist of a two-step procedure: a non-invasive test to detect the presence of hemoglobin in stool and a colonoscopy if the test is positive. Being effective, the procedure gives many false positives, above 60%, in the initial test for detecting blood in stool, which places a great burden on the health system, hospitals, doctors and, of course, the patients.
The project has already been validated in clinical samples in the laboratory, with results that the researchers describe as “very encouraging.” What it is about now is transferring it to a real clinical environment. In addition to improving diagnosis and reducing costs, the project would allow expanding the age range selected for screening, which now begins at 50 years of age despite the fact that it is being observed that the incidence of colorectal cancer is growing below this age.
Transparency statement: this research is funded by the “la Caixa” Foundation, an entity that supports the Big Vang scientific information channel
