Similar results were reported in the August 9 issue of Science by BertVogelstein of Johns Hopkins University and Yusake Nakamura of the Cancer Institute in Tokyo. Nakamura contributed to earlier polyposis research in White's laboratory at the University of Utah. The work was funded in part by the NIH National Center For Human Genome Research. Discovery of the polyposis gene not only allows early detection of colon tumors but has enabled the development of a simple blood test to identify family members who have inherited the mutant gene. Affected individuals can be watched closely, and intervention may become possible at an earlier stage of the disease.
Colorectal cancer is second only to lung cancer as a cause of death by malignancy.
Over 150,000 people will contract the disease this year, and over 60,000 will die of it.