screening

Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine evaluate colorectal cancer screening tests that could be alternatives to the existing faecal immunochemical test (FIT), which detects occult blood in stool. The first study uses a new generation test that detects DNA in stool and has a higher sensitivity than FIT, 93.9% for colorectal cancer and 90.6% for advanced neoplasia (tumour formation). The second uses a blood-based DNA detection test with a sensitivity of 83% for colorectal cancer and 90% for advanced neoplasia.   

A study published in the journal BMJ Oncology shows a preliminary stage test for the detection of 18 solid tumors of different organs based on the blood plasma proteome.

A machine learning model can use data on people's age, duration of smoking addiction and number of cigarettes smoked per day to predict lung cancer risk and identify who needs to be screened, according to a new study published in PLOS Medicine.

On the occasion of World Cancer Research Day on 24 September, the Science Media Centre Spain organised an information session on mass screening. At the meeting, researchers Adrian Aginagalde, Isabel Portillo and Juan Carlos Trujillo explained how mass screening is studied, analysed its advantages and disadvantages, explained how its implementation is decided and what new developments we can expect.

Between 2018 and 2020, a pilot programme conducted neonatal genetic screening of children born in Australia for spinal muscular atrophy, allowing treatment to begin early. A study just published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health looks at their condition at two years of age and concludes that they had better movement ability, including the ability to walk, compared to children diagnosed once they develop symptoms. According to the authors, the findings justify further implementation of neonatal screening for the disease.