Tang’s ColoAlert test – developed with a laboratory in Mainz, Germany, headed by his mother-in-law, Professor Maria Paz Weishaar, a leading biomedic – goes further by screening for three additional, common biomarkers for bowel cancer: mutated KRAS and BRAF genes, and human DNA. Studies have proven it to be over 90 per cent accurate in detecting markers of the disease, beyond or even before bleeding.
He explains: “The colon continuously sheds healthy and unhealthy cells into the stool, which enables ColoAlert to detect any cancerous DNA cells early, in some cases even before any abnormal cell growths can be endoscopically detected through a colonoscopy and long before any symptoms like bleeding appear.”
It is available privately – both for asymptomatic health screening and symptomatic patients – but, he says: “My ambition is clear. I’d like to see this approved and freely available as a screening tool and diagnostic test to any NHS doctor or patient who wants it.”
Tang explains that ColoAlert is one of only two tests in the world to combine standard FIT and additional DNA markers in stools; it is the only one available in European markets and is already pushing into the US.
Rebecca Porta, CEO of Bowel Research UK, says improved testing worked alongside better awareness and reduced stigma around symptoms: “We want to overcome the enormous challenge of people being diagnosed at stage three and four and get back to diagnoses at stage one.
“The pandemic made people frightened to ‘bother’ their GP. We need to inspire more confidence in them to check for signs of bowel cancer and have those conversations.”
Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, says Covid has exacerbated existing issues in diagnostic capacity, adding: “To improve earlier diagnosis of bowel cancer we need to optimise the screening programme, increase the recognition of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, encourage people to seek help earlier and improve referral pathways for those with potential bowel cancer to get quicker access to vital endoscopy tests.”
Tang, a clinical director at the north west’s Pall Mall Medical, believes his test would cost around £150 to process in UK labs (it is currently processed in Germany at a £400 cost to patients) and could help bring down the price of cancer treatment to the NHS; every colonoscopy alone is £370.
Scientists believe that around half of bowel cancer cases could be prevented by healthier lifestyle and diet, including less processed meats and more fibre.
While 94 per cent of people who develop the illness are over 50, 2,500 under-50s are diagnosed each year. Porta adds: “This is not just an older person’s disease. Younger people should check themselves, as they do for breast cancer.”
Recently, Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, 42, and Channel 4’s 43-year-old Merlin Griffiths (bartender on the TV show First Dates) have opened up about diagnoses, contributing to a national conversation about the disease.
Deborah James, 40, aka ‘BowelBabe,’ who was diagnosed five years ago and given an 8 per cent chance of surviving this long, has made huge strides in public awareness by sharing her journey with her 250,000 social media followers.
