New stool test detects bowel cancer
By Ute Allison ND
- British Naturopathic Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2003
A new ELISA test detects specific antibodies to Tumour M2 Pyruvate Kinase (M2-PK), an isomere that only tumour cells produce during their glucose metabolism. The test is not only more reliable than other screening tests but also far simpler. It is not invasive and no special diet is needed.
In the UK about 35,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year. In England and Wales, this number is increasing by one per cent a year for men, although for women the total has been staying fairly constant.
About 16,000 people die of the disease every year, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK – lung cancer being the most common. However, bowel cancer is highly treatable and often curable if detected early.
Surgery is the primary treatment and is successful in about 45 per cent of all patients. Prognosis is clearly related to the degree of penetration of the tumour through the bowel wall and the presence or absence of nodal involvement.
The risk of developing bowel cancer increases with age. The average age for men is 67, and for women it is 72. Only ten per cent of colorectal tumours appear in people under the age of 40.