[Pilot study on M2-PK-- a new non-invasive parameter for early diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma]

To determine the level of tumor marker pyruvate kinase dimer (M2-PK) in the feces of patients with colorectal cancer and benign polyps, as well as in individuals with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Fecal M2-PK determination could be outlined as a highly reliable non-invasive approach to the diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma. The establishing of elevated values in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases decreases the specificity of M2-PK as a tumor marker. However, this does not compromise its essential clinical significance, because the precise diagnosis in both diseases imposes an obligatory performance of colonoscopy.