Concepedia

Identification of <i>ras</i> Oncogene Mutations in the Stool of Patients with Curable Colorectal Tumors

David Sidransky, Takashi Tokino, Stanley R. Hamilton, Kenneth W. Kinzler, Bernard Levin, Philip Frost, Bert Vogelstein

Science · 1992 · 700 citations · 33 references

TL;DR

Colorectal tumors are curable when detected early, and tumor‑associated genetic mutations can be identified in patients’ stool. Stool samples from nine patients with K‑ras‑mutated colorectal tumors, including both benign and malignant lesions from proximal and distal colon, were analyzed. RAS mutations were detected in stool DNA in eight of nine patients, demonstrating that colorectal tumors can be identified noninvasively through molecular analysis.

Abstract

Colorectal (CR) tumors are usually curable if detected before metastasis. Because genetic alterations are associated with the development of these tumors, mutant genes may be found in the stool of individuals with CR neoplasms. The stools of nine patients whose tumors contained mutations of K- ras were analyzed. In eight of the nine cases, the ras mutations were detectable in DNA purified from the stool. These patients included those with benign and malignant neoplasms from proximal and distal colonic epithelium. Thus, colorectal tumors can be detected by a noninvasive method based on the molecular pathogenesis of the disease.