Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Feb 15, 2020; 12(2): 124-148
Published online Feb 15, 2020. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i2.124
Biomarkers for detecting colorectal cancer non-invasively: DNA, RNA or proteins?
Alexandre Loktionov
Alexandre Loktionov, DiagNodus Ltd, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Loktionov A is responsible for all work related to the preparation of this paper; he designed the paper structure, performed the literature search, analysed the literature data, prepared and contributed one figure and five tables and wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Alexandre Loktionov holds posts of CEO and Scientific Director at DiagNodus Ltd.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Alexandre Loktionov, MD, PhD, Scientific Director, DiagNodus Ltd, Babraham Research Campus, Bldg 280, Cambridge CB22 3AT, United Kingdom. alex.loktionov@diagnodus.com
Received: September 13, 2019
Peer-review started: September 13, 2019
First decision: October 18, 2019
Revised: October 30, 2019
Accepted: November 29, 2019
Article in press: November 29, 2019
Published online: February 15, 2020
Processing time: 155 Days and 0.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Numerous biomarkers detectable in non-invasively collected samples of stool, colorectal mucus, blood, urine, saliva and exhaled air have been investigated to develop new tests for colorectal cancer (CRC) early detection and screening. Promising results are often reported, but it is difficult to achieve the right balance between technical complexity, cost and diagnostic performance of the new tests. Today the combination of non-invasive faecal immunochemical test and confirmatory invasive colonoscopy remains the CRC screening strategy of choice. However, on-going intense research promises the emergence of new superior non-invasive screening tests that will allow the development of improved prevention strategies for these malignancies.