HealthDay (1/20, Preidt) reported, "The first blood test to reliably detect early-stage colorectal cancer and polyps may help identify patients who would gain most from colonoscopy," according to findings reported at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. In a news release from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, "which helped organize the meeting," lead author Sarah Kraus, of the Tel Aviv Souraski Medical Center, said the test "holds promise for identifying the patients at risk for colorectal cancer and could help guide the best use of colonoscopy resources."

The test detects "a protein called CD24 that is elevated in the presence of both colon cancer and growths that are destined to become colon cancer," WebMD (1/20, Laino) reported. In a study of 73 people, researchers found that "the test accurately detected colorectal cancer in 92 percent of cases; only eight percent of colon cancers were missed." The test also "accurately caught 84 percent" of adenomas, with an 11 percent false-positive rate.