[Problems and prospects of non-invasive screening for colorectal cancer]

High prevalence of colorectal cancer makes it a most serious socio-medical problem. Hence, the necessity of overall screening for prodromal changes and malignant neoplasms at the early stages of the disease. Despite a variety of efficacious instrumental diagnostic tools, the development of non-invasive screening techniques based on recent progress in understanding molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis remains a highly topical issue. A pathogenetic model of colorectal cancer and pathophysiological basis of screening for colonic neoplasms are considered with the emphasis on the detection of tumour cells in faeces and their DNA carrying mutations in suppressor genes and oncogenes. Results of the studies with the use of one or several DNA oncomarkers are analysed in the context of their value for the diagnosis of colorectal neoplasms. High sensitivity and specificity of these methods make them very promising for application to the screening for colorectal cancer.