A new Canadian test for colorectal cancer may revolutionize the way the disease is detected, saving thousands of lives each year, according to research findings presented last night at The Digestive Diseases Week conference in San Diego. Early detection is the single most important factor in treating and curing the disease. The test is inexpensive and painless, does not require a blood test or stool sample, and requires no dietary restrictions prior to obtaining the sample. The test is expected on the Canadian market next year.
Colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent cancer in North America.
Research tells us that the relatively high mortality rate is due in part to the lack of accurate screening tests for the early detection of the disease. It is estimated that 17,000 new cases of colorectal cancer and 6,500 deaths will be reported this year in Canada, following behind lung and breast cancer, according to figures from the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Colorectal cancer can be a death sentence if diagnosed in the late stages. The five-year survival rate for colorectal cancer is 90 per cent for patients whose cancer is found and treated in the early stages, says the American Cancer Society, which predicts that 130,000 new cases of colorectal cancer and more than 56,000 deaths will result from the disease in the United States this year. However, only 37 per cent of all cases are found in the early stages.