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Researchers in the UK have developed a new method for detecting bowel cancer in higher-risk patients. About 500,000 people in the country live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Currently, they are offered regular checks for pre-cancerous growths in their gut, which, if detected, indicate a 30% chance of bowel cancer developing over 10 years. But the UK research found that DNA changes in those pre-cancerous cells, when analysed by an algorithm, were more than 90% accurate in predicting who would develop bowel cancer over the next five years.
The researchers used tissue samples from IBD patients to discover this method – they hope it can be used to develop a simple blood test to identify those IBD patients most at risk. Craig Foster, whose wife Fariba died of bowel cancer in February 2024, said: “Research like this will save lives…It gives me comfort to know that there are scientists working right now so that no one has to experience the same situation Fariba was in.”
Prof Trevor Graham from the Institute of Cancer Research in London said: “Most people with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease won’t develop bowel cancer. But for those that have these conditions and are showing signs of pre-cancer in their colon, there are some tough decisions to make.” Graham added: “Our test and algorithm give people with IBD, and the doctors who care for them, the best possible information so that they can make the right decision about how to manage their cancer risk.”
Dr Iain Foulkes, of Cancer Research UK, which funded the research said, “With this research, we can focus resources on treating people with IBD who are at really high risk, saving health services valuable time and money. We can also give those at lower risk peace of mind and remove the fear of bowel cancer in the future.” The charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK said that this was really positive news for those living with these conditions, and “anything that enables early detection with quicker, less invasive diagnostic tests, removing some of that uncertainty, is hugely exciting.
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