The Susan and John Freeman Cancer Research Grant: Developing a new blood-based screening test for bowel cancer

Background

Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. The lifetime risk of developing bowel cancer before the age of 75 is around one in 19 for men and one in 28 for women. This makes bowel – or colorectal – cancer the third most common cancer in Australia and the second most common cause of cancer death. In 2019, it’s predicted that 16,398 Australians will be diagnosed with bowel cancer.

The good news is that almost 90 per cent of bowel cancers can be cured if detected early.

Australia’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program aims to reduce deaths from bowel cancer through early detection of the disease. The program involves a test which can detect minimal amounts of haemoglobin (blood) in your bowel motions. Eligible participants collect samples from two or three bowel motions using an at-home test kit which are analysed by pathologists, and if blood is detected, colonoscopy is then used to confirm that cancer is the cause.

While the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program undoubtedly saves thousands of lives, participation is low (~40%) and the test can give false positive results which may lead to longer waiting times, patient worry and unnecessary colonoscopies.

The research

Professor Baker and his team aim to develop a new test to detect bowel cancer in its early stages – a test that is more accurate and is as simple as having a blood test.

In a previous study, Professor Baker and his team discovered a suite of blood protein biomarkers that could identify bowel cancer in its early stages. The team made this discovery using proteomics – an emerging science started in Sydney and in which Australia is fast becoming a world leader. In this new project, the team will use their earlier findings to develop a highly accurate blood test that measures changes in the levels of a panel of validated proteins.

Once authenticated, the team will benchmark the new blood test against the current National Bowel Cancer Screening Program test to determine which method is more effective as an early stage bowel cancer screening test.