A QUICK and easy urine test for predicting bowel cancer risk is being developed by researchers, it was revealed yesterday.
People could buy the test in chemists for use at home or take it in their GP surgery. It is designed to pick up signs of damaged cells that could one day lead to bowel cancer.
Although only in its early stages, scientists hope it will give a simpl
e "positive" or "negative" result. Anyone testing positive would be given advice on cutting their risk, such as through eating less red meat, avoiding alcohol or losing weight.
The test would not need to be sent off to a laboratory for analysis, unlike the current one on the market. The present faecal occult blood test looks for blood in the stools – one of the main indicators of cancerous and pre-cancerous changes in the gut.
The new, inexpensive, disposable tests would make it easier and cheaper to detect cancer risk, said the Open University team behind the research, which is being backed by a £50,000 grant from the World Cancer Research Fund.
The test picks up signs of DNA adducts – abnormal changes that have been shown to be the start of a cancerous cell.
Dr Maria Velasco-Garcia, from the Open University's department of chemistry and analytical sciences, said: "We are very excited about this piece of research as it will mean more people can be screened before the cancer has started to develop.
"Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK, affecting around 36,000 people each year."
The NHS screening programme for bowel cancer is currently only available to people aged 60 to 69. The team hopes the new test will lead to more people across other age groups getting checked out.
The full article contains 304 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
