Residents in the United Arab Emirates will soon have access to easy-to-use at-home colon cancer tests rather than colonoscopy tests at clinics, thanks to a new diagnostic kit in production in Dubai.
Scientists behind the ColoAlert tests – which can be self-administered – say it can detect colorectal cancer with a sensitivity and specificity nearly as high as the invasive procedure usually performed in hospital settings.
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Molecular geneticists Mainz Biomed have partnered with Dante Labs, a company specialising in precision medicine, to develop testing kits in the UAE as well as Italy.
The ColoAlert Basic Test is an at home Bowel Cancer Screening Test to detect DNA changes and blood in the stool which may indicate the presence of cancerous or precancerous growths in the bowel.
ColoAlert is designed to detect tumor DNA and detect 85 percent of colorectal cancer cases – often in the earliest stages of the disease.
Many colorectal cancers can be prevented through regular screening. Screening can find precancerous polyps—abnormal growths in the colon or rectum—so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening is important because when found early, colorectal cancer is highly treatable.
In the UAE, colorectal cancer – or bowel cancer – is the most common cancer among males and the third most common cancer in females, and is a leading cause of cancer deaths, according to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
ColoAlert is currently marketed across Europe, and the partnership with Dante Labs marks the test’s initial launch in the Middle East.
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