Screening for Colorectal Cancer

What is Colorectal Cancer?

The colon is the longest part of the large intestine and the rectum is the last few inches of the large intestine before the anus. Polyps which are benign lumps may form on the inner wall of the colon and rectum. However, certain types of polyps may develop into cancer and should be removed if they are detected. This cancer is known as the cancer of the colon or rectum.

Colorectal Cancer is the third most common cancer in the world amongst men and second most common cancer amongst women. In 2018, there were 1.8 million new cases diagnosed. Both men and women above the age of 50 years are encouraged to do yearly Colorectal Cancer screening which can aid in the early detection and treatment of polyps.

What tests can be done to detect Colorectal Cancer?

You may consider to incorporate these tests into your regular health screening:

Faecal Occult Blood

This test looks for blood in your stools. Even if blood is detected, further investigations need to be carried out to determine the source of bleeding. It is the most economical test but may not be the most accurate.

Blood tests

• Full Blood Count

Because colorectal cancer may bleed into the large intestine or rectum, one may become anemic. As such, reading of the red blood cells would be useful in detecting such internal bleeding which otherwise may not be symptomatic

• Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

This test is a tumour marker which are substances made by cancer cells or by normal cells in response to cancer in the body. High levels of CEA may be a sign of Colorectal cancer but this level is high only in about 60% of diagnosed cases. Thus, further investigation will be required to determine the cause of elevated CEA reading

• Epi ProColon®

This is a HSA-approved PCR blood test for colorectal cancer in adults of any age. It detects Methylated Septin 9 which is a colorectal cancer biomarker shed into the bloodstream from proximal and distal colon and rectal cancerous sites, making it a differential biomarker for the early detection of colorectal cancer. Learn more about Epi ProColon® here.

Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is considered to be the gold standard for Colorectal cancer screening. It is recommended if you are above 50 years old with no family history nor symptoms of colorectal cancer. If the results are normal, colonoscopy should be repeated at intervals of 5 to 10 years.