The M2-PK Test is a non-invasive

screening Screening may refer to: * Screening cultures, a type a medical test that is done to find an infection * Screening (economics), a strategy of combating adverse selection (includes sorting resumes to select employees) * Screening (environmental), a s ...

method for the early detection of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

s and

polyps A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral (opposite to oral) en ...

which are known to be the precursors of colorectal cancer. The M2-PK Test which is used for stool analysis is available either as fully quantitative

ELISA The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

Test or as a rapid test that can be performed by any

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

without the need of a laboratory or any additional equipment. The enzyme

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

M2-PK has been identified as a key

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

in colorectal cancers and polyps. The detection of M2-PK does not depend on

blood in the stool Blood in stool looks different depending on how early it enters the digestive tract—and thus how much digestive action it has been exposed to—and how much there is. The term can refer either to melena, with a black appearance, typically or ...

and is specifically related on changes in the tumor metabolism.

False positive A false positive is an error in binary classification in which a test result incorrectly indicates the presence of a condition (such as a disease when the disease is not present), while a false negative is the opposite error, where the test resu ...

results by unspecific blood sources in the bowel are excluded and the test is able to detect both bleeding as well as non-bleeding colorectal cancers and polyps. The M2-PK Test is able to detect 80.3% of colorectal cancers. Testing for M2-PK allows for colorectal

cancer screening The objective of cancer screening is to detect cancer before symptoms appear, involving various methods such as blood tests, urine tests, DNA tests, and medical imaging. The purpose of screening is early cancer detection, to make the cancer easie ...

asymptomatic Asymptomatic (or clinically silent) is an adjective categorising the medical conditions (i.e., injuries or diseases) that patients carry but without experiencing their symptoms, despite an explicit diagnosis (e.g., a positive medical test). P ...

patients. An elevated concentration of M2-PK in the stool should always be clarified by undergoing

colonoscopy Colonoscopy () or coloscopy () is a medical procedure involving the Endoscopy, endoscopic examination of the large bowel (colon) and the distal portion of the small bowel. This examination is performed using either a Charge-coupled device, CCD ...

. The gold standard of early detection of colon polyp/cancer is the invasive

, but with high expense about $557, while

tumor marker A tumor marker is a biomarker that can be used to indicate the presence of cancer or the behavior of cancers (measure progression or response to therapy). They can be found in bodily fluids or tissue. Markers can help with assessing prognosis, s ...

M2-PK Test expense only about $15-$25. The invasive colonoscopy makes acceptance of it low among patients, so relatively cheap non-invasive M2-PK Test is a good choice for detection early polyp/cancer.

References

{{reflist Cancer screening