**Note: Lead author Ajay Goel, PhD, is available Wednesday, June 19, for broadcast interviews via Baylor Health Care System’s satellite center**
A new blood test developed in the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Lab at Baylor Research Institute is showing very promising results for finding cancer-related microRNA in the blood before a tumor develops in the colon.
The test results, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, are exciting and promising because this simple blood-based test examines the levels of a single microRNA – a small RNA molecule that can be readily identified in a wide variety of bodily fluids, including blood. In this seminal study the investigators studied several hundred patients with colorectal polyps and cancers and reported that measuring levels of miR-21 in the blood can accurately identify up to 92 percent of patients with colorectal cancer.
Even more importantly, not only is this test good for non-invasively identifying patients who already have colorectal cancer, but it can accurately identify up to 82 percent of patients with advanced colonic polyps, which present the highest risk for developing into colorectal cancers several years later in life.
“The development of this biomarker is highly encouraging because high mortality rates associated with colorectal cancer is a consequence of late detection of this disease, underscoring the need for improved early detection, prevention, risk assessment and intervention,” said Ajay Goel, PhD, director of Epigenetics and Cancer Prevention at Baylor Research Institute.
Early detection of advanced colorectal polyps and cancers is considered the most relevant target for screening strategies and the best approach to improving survival of these patients. ”This blood-based test could be transformative in how we screen patients for colorectal cancer; it would save lives and could result in major savings of health care dollars,” said Michael Ramsay, MD, president of Baylor Research Institute.
While more testing needs to be done, the findings were enough to warrant an editorial in the highly regarded Journal by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, associate director for clinical research at the University of Southern California’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “MiR-21 may not be ‟just another brick in the wall„ but rather may be the keystone leading to a molecularly justified, miRNA-based biomarker era in colorectal cancer,” Dr. Lenz said in the Journal*.
# # #
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com
