Colorectal cancer is common in the United States, with an estimated 152,810 new cases in 2024, along with an estimated 53,010 deaths. While it’s highly treatable and the five-year relative survival rate is about 90% for those with early-stage cancer, that rate plummets to below 20% once it’s spread to other parts of the body. Scientists are working on a new device to ensure more people catch their cancer when it’s most treatable.

Researchers at the University of Texas El Paso have developed a portable blood test for colorectal cancer, with their latest developments published in the journal ACS Measurement Service Au. The team says that current tests can be invasive and expensive, like colonoscopies, or they can sometimes be unreliable, like stool-based tests. Symptoms can often be vague or nonexistent, as well, which can also get in the way of early diagnosis.

Ruma Paul, study co-author and doctoral student in chemistry at UTEP, says, “The earlier the detection, the greater the hope for saving lives. Blood-based tests are much easier on patients while also being able to precisely detect the early signs of colorectal cancer. Our research could one day make simpler early detection possible.”

To try to achieve this, Paul has designed a portable electrochemical immunosensor that can detect colon cancer-secreted protein 2, or CCSP-2. This is found in colorectal cancer cells at 78 times the level that it’s found in healthy colon cells, which makes it a good biomarker to use. Tests of the sensor have shown that it detects CCSP-2 with high sensitivity and specificity.

The researchers plan to use the device with other biomarkers to see how well it works with them, as well. The team hopes that combining it with sensors for other biomarkers may help with the development of alternate screening methods.

Dr. Sourav Roy, study co-author and associate professor of biological sciences at UTEP, says, “Our goal is to come up with inexpensive, accessible, non-invasive, and reliable strategies for early detection of colorectal cancers using computational and molecular biology."

It may be some time before we see it, as the technology will still need to be patented and go through clinical trials. If these steps occur, though, the sensor could be mass produced and available for use outside the doctor’s office.

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