A home DNA test kit is all set to be made available in the United Arab Emirates to increase early detection rates for one of the most deadly but curable types of cancer.
Scientists have invented a home stool test to detect colorectal cancer to detect its signs in an early stage. The test utilises technology similar to that of a Corona PCR test.
Mainz Biomed, a German-based company, stated that its ColoAlert test had a specificity and sensitivity comparable to a colonoscopy which is conducted at a hospital.
A clinical test in Germany discovered that ColoAlert has over a sensitivity rate of 85% and a specificity rate of 92%.
Data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer at the WHO showed colorectal cancer was the second most common type found in 2020, accounting for 10.6% of all cases in the UAE.
A DNA test like the ColoAlert in the UAE is a very smooth form of screening that considers cost-effectiveness and better sensitivity.
Doctors in the UAE recommend that an at-home test would motivate more people to conduct checks on themselves to catch early signs of colorectal cancer and seek treatment that will increase survival rates.
Kits will soon be made available via the Dante Labs Genomics e-commerce site located in Silicon Oasis in Dubai from June 8. Customers can buy tests online, and samples collected and result returned within a few days.
Dr Mahesh Rama Varma, a gastroenterologist at NMC Royal Hospital in Dubai, said, “Patients diagnosed at an early stage have a much higher survival rate than those who have a metastatic spread of advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis.”
“Early detection of it is the key to preventing advanced cancers.
“Types of tests for colorectal cancer screening contain stool-based testing to detect either haemoglobin in the blood coming from a lesion or DNA alterations suggestive of malignancy.”