Colon cancer screening technique shows continued promise in...(arger number of patients in the more rec...)

Date:6/9/2009

arger number of patients in the more recent study allowed researchers to calculate the "area under the receiver operator characteristic" (AUROC), which is an analysis of the accuracy of the test in distinguishing healthy samples from diseased samples. While the sensitivity and specificity of tests may vary based on the threshold set by researchers for diagnosis, the AUROC measures the overall efficacy of the diagnostic technique. The analysis showed an 89.5 percent AUROC for the technique. (Clinically sound tests typically have an AUROC greater than 70 percent.)

The study provides a proof of concept that this sort of analysis could be a minimally intrusive colon cancer screening technique. Further studies with a compatible fiber optic probe are under way for multicenter clinical validation.

The work builds on previous success in using a suite of optical technologies to detect both colon and pancreatic cancer.

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Contact: Kyle Delaney k-delaney@northwestern.edu 847-467-4010 Northwestern University Source:Eurekalert

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