GoodGut, a biotechnology firm that researches and develops noninvasive systems to diagnose and treat digestive diseases using the intestinal microbiota, has presented positive results for the RAID-CRC test, which will improve early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). This test yields 55% fewer false positives than screening with faecal occult blood tests, as blood is not a specific marker of CRC and, as a result, limits the number of colonoscopies that must be given.

These conclusions are from a multi-centre study with 450 patients with symptoms pointing to CRC who had had a colonoscopy at five Catalan hospitals that are leaders in oncology: Dr Josep Trueta University Hospital, Bellvitge University Hospital, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Healthcare Institute (IAS) and the Hospital Consortium of Vic.

Currently, the main colon-cancer screening programme in many countries is the immunochemical faecal occult blood test (FIT). This test is effective and affordable, but has a low positive predictive value (8%) for cancer, which means it yields a high percentage of false positives leading to unnecessary colonoscopies. RAID-CRC complements the current screening with the microbiological signature of CRC in the faecal sample.

"The results of the study prove that screening with RAID-CRC and FIT detects CRC with up to 94% sensitivity and advanced neoplasms with 80% sensitivity," explains Dr Xavier Aldeguer, GoodGut medical director and head of the Digestive System Department at Dr Josep Trueta University Hospital in Girona. Aldeguer has been researching the intestinal microbiota for more than 10 years.

Furthermore, Dr Antoni Castells, co-coordinator of the Barcelona colorectal cancer detection programme, says the new approach would "if these results are confirmed among participants in screening programs we can reduce the number of unnecessary colonoscopies by 32% and detect 59% of precancerous lesions." The savings associated with colonoscopies alone would add up to more than €5.5 million per round of screening every two years and increase the sensitivity to detect precancerous lesions (diagnosing the disease in a very early stage).

Third most common form of cancer in the world

CRC is the third most common form of cancer in occurrence and mortality rate in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Each week, more than 8,600 new cases of colon cancer are diagnosed in Europe and 2,500 in the United States. This is why population screening policies have been implemented to detect the disease early with non-invasive tools.

Using RAID-CRC "will have a significant positive impact on society, as the current screening system is more early diagnostic than preventative," says Mariona Serra, CEO of GoodGut. Serra also explains that the next step is validating these results in a larger sample of patents and allow the company to get CE marking for the test and take it to market by the end of 2019.

About GoodGut GoodGut (www.goodgut.eu) is a biotechnology firm that researches and develops non-invasive systems to diagnose and treat digestive diseases using the intestinal microbiota as a decisive factor. The aim is to bring about a global paradigm shift in clinical standards and improve patients' quality of life with diagnostic systems that are faster, more reliable and more affordable than the ones currently in use, as well as innovative therapies.

GoodGut was created in 2014 as a spin-off of the University of Girona (UdG) and the Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI). It was co-founded by Mariona Serra, PhD in pharmacology and named an inspiring woman by Catalunya Emprèn in 2017; Xavier Aldeguer, head of the Gastroenterology Department at Dr Josep Trueta University Hospital in Girona; and Jesús García-Gil, professor of Microbiology at UdG. The company's facilities are at the University of Girona Science and Technology Park.

Fuente: GoodGut

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