Australian colorectal cancer blood test attracts attention from US

Australian researchers have developed a new, more convenient test for colorectal cancer, which is already attracting commercial interest in the US.

Sydney's Clinical Genomics, the CSIRO and the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer (FCIC) have developed and are trialling a blood test that uses gene-based biomarkers to screen for colorectal cancer.

The test promises to be more convenient and less intrusive than current best-practice diagnostics procedures such taking a stool sample or colonoscopy.

Clinical Genomics CEO Lawrence LaPointe said a more convenient test could fulfil an important need.

“When caught early, colon cancer is highly treatable,” he said. “Yet, colon cancer is a major cause of cancer death globally, largely because many patients cannot or will not be tested by colonoscopy, fecal occult blood testing and other guideline-recommended procedures.”

Quest Diagnostics is also exercising an option under a partnership deal with Clinical Genomics to evaluate the effectiveness of the marker test.

Quest will then consider incorporating the markers into ColoVantage, its existing biomarker-based colorectal cancer test, opening the doors to the US market for the screening method.

Such an outcome would require Clinical Genomics' test to meet clinical, regulatory and technical validations, and for testing to confirm that an expanded ColoVantage would be a more effective diagnostics tool.

Financial terms of any potential commercial agreement with Quest have not yet been disclosed.