RNA analysis raises hopes of early cancer diagnosis

An improved method for diagnosing colorectal cancer without using invasive techniques has been developed by scientists in China.  Colorectal cancer has become one of the most common forms of cancer in the Western world. Early diagnosis plays a key role in recovery from the disease, but this is hindered by the invasive techniques often needed. To address this, there has been increasing focus on finding ways to detect cancer cells excreted in faeces. A team led by Guohua Zhou at Nanjing University has now developed an improved method for detecting cancer-cell RNA in stool samples.  More...