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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Apr 15, 2014; 6(4): 83-97
Published online Apr 15, 2014. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v6.i4.83
Published online Apr 15, 2014. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v6.i4.83
Use of blood-based biomarkers for early diagnosis and surveillance of colorectal cancer
Ganepola AP Ganepola, Joel Nizin, John R Rutledge, David H Chang, Center for Cancer Research and Genomic Medicine, The Daniel and Gloria Blumenthal Cancer Center, Paramus, NJ 07652, United States
Ganepola AP Ganepola, Joel Nizin, Department of Surgery, The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, United States
Author contributions: All the authors wrote the manuscript.
Supported by The Valley Hospital Foundation Research Fund; The community of The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, especially Ms. Audrey Meyers, CEO, Mr. Anastasios Kozaitis, president of the Valley Hospital Foundation
Correspondence to: David H Chang, PhD, Research Scientist, Center for Cancer Research and Genomic Medicine, The Daniel and Gloria Blumenthal Cancer Center, The Valley Hospital, 1 Valley Health Plaza, Paramus, NJ 07652, United States. davidhc9@gmail.com
Telephone: +1-201-6345542 Fax: +1-201-6345383
Received: November 5, 2013
Revised: March 8, 2014
Accepted: March 17, 2014
Published online: April 15, 2014
Processing time: 156 Days and 4 Hours
Revised: March 8, 2014
Accepted: March 17, 2014
Published online: April 15, 2014
Processing time: 156 Days and 4 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Current colorectal cancer screening modalities are severely inadequate for global application because of high costs and a low participation rate. The alternative is to develop a blood-based screening test based on biomarkers which can replace colonoscopy as a first-line screening tool. The blood-based test should identify the high risk population, which will then be followed by colonoscopy as a secondary test. This review surveys the various experimental approaches and latest research into ideal biomarkers for the initial screening test, the pros and cons of each method and their potential to lead to a future screening test.