A blood-based test for detection of advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer (DENEB): a multicentre diagnostic accuracy study.

A blood-based assay detects colorectal cancer and advanced adenomas with 95% accuracy in a multicentre study, showing 91% sensitivity for colorectal cancer and 81% for advanced adenomas.

• Why it matters: Detecting premalignant lesions like advanced adenomas is crucial to reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality, but current screening methods have limitations, especially in increasing participation.
• What they did: The study developed and validated a blood test measuring 39 miRNAs using RT-qPCR, employing machine learning models trained on cohorts from Spain and Japan, then tested on independent cohorts.
• The result: The assay achieved high diagnostic performance, with 85% specificity for advanced neoplasia and sensitivity for stage I-III colorectal cancers, supporting its potential for population screening.