Urinary markers in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Studies have demonstrated that patient outcome is substantially influenced by cancer stage at the time of diagnosis. For example, patients with early stage colorectal have a significant higher 5-year survival rates compared to patients diagnosed at late stage. Thus, it is important to develop effective methods for early diagnosis as well as for precise staging of this disease process. Although traditional colonoscopy remains the most effective means to diagnose colorectal cancer, this approach generally suffers from poor patient compliance. As such, it is imperative to develop accurate and specific tests that utilize a more convenient approaches including urine examination. Urine collection is noninvasive, requires no presampling preparation, and substantially improves compliance. Recent advances in metabolomics, analytical techniques, and data analysis have tremendous potential for application in diagnostic pathology including identification of novel urinary markers in colorectal cancer.