"It's very exciting to see this level of sensitivity for digestive cancer detection in our first look at this test application," says Dr. Ahlquist, "Historically, we've approached cancer screening one organ at a time. Stool DNA testing could shift the strategy of cancer screening to multi-organ, whole-patient testing and could also open the door to early detection of cancers above the colon which are currently not screened. The potential impact of this evolution could be enormous."

In October 2008, this Mayo Clinic research team published results of a multicenter study using first-generation stool DNA testing. In the seven-year, multicenter study (Ann Intern Med 2008;149:441-50), researchers found that the first-generation stool DNA tests were better than fecal blood tests for detecting cancer and precancerous polyps of the colon. In January 2009 (Gastroenterology 2009;136:459-70), Mayo researchers published some technical improvements that nearly doubled the sensitivity of stool DNA testing for detecting premalignant polyps and increased cancer detection to about 90 percent, which is the approximate rate of detection observed for CT colonography.

Researchers hope that the next generation tests will have significant improvements in accuracy, processing speed, ease of patient use and affordability. "We anticipate that next generation tests will also be able to predict the tumor site, which will help physicians direct diagnostic studies and minimize unnecessary procedures," says Dr. Ahlquist.

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