A team of professors and students at Missouri University discovered that biomarkers found in mouse feces could predict colon cancer caused by inflammation. Certain messenger RNA of mouse genes signal the inflammation that precedes inflammation-associated colon cancer. Screening mouse feces for the RNA can thus predict if a mouse will develop colon cancer.
The method of screening feces for RNA is new because previous technology did not have the power to prolong RNA’s short degradation time.
The researchers posit that screening a patient for similar genes could, in patients with inflammation-associated colon cancer, replace colonoscopy as a diagnostic procedure.
Read the release on replacing colonoscopies.
Read more coverage on colonoscopies:
– UW Gastroenterologist Reflects on Kinematics in Routine Colonoscopy
– 12 Findings on Colonoscopy From the AAAHC Institute
– Missouri Surgeon Utilizes Novel Minimally Invasive Treatment for Colorectal Cancer
