Patients with suspected bowel cancer could soon be diagnosed by the use of a simple blood test rather than an invasive procedure. About 41,000 Britons are diagnosed with bowel cancer – a type of colorectal cancer – each year, making it the UK’s second-biggest cancer killer. The test, created by the biomedicine company Universal Diagnostics, measures 30 to 40 markers that are most likely to signify bowel cancer. All will be offered a colonoscopy as well as the blood test. Following the trial, the new blood test could be used in widespread screening programmes.

Source: Daily Mail November 18, 2017 21:56 UTC