[Application and prospect of fecal DNA test in colorectal cancer screening]

Effective early screening and primary prevention is one of the major initiatives to decrease the morbidity and mortality of colorectal cancer in China. As a new non-invasive screening method for colorectal cancer in recent years, fecal DNA test detects colorectal cancer by analyzing gene mutations from intestinal tumor cells in the feces. The most widely used method among fecal DNA test is multi-target stoolDNA test (MT-sDNA). Many studies abroad on this emerging technique have been carried out to verify its high sensitivity, and it is gradually used in the clinic with continuous improvement and development of technology. Meanwhile, domestic MT-sDNA is still in the prototype stage, and more researches from Chinese population are needed. Compared with traditional screening methods, MT-sDNA technology has the advantages of non-invasiveness, painlessness and convenience. But its defects exist, such as high cost and low specificity. MT-sDNAis in accordance with precision medicine, and can largely make up for the shortcomings of traditional screening methods for colorectal cancer. It also holds a great promise for promoting the screening for colorectal cancer. This paper is aimed to discuss the application value of fecal DNA test by introducing its related researches at home and abroad,and summarizing its merits and demerits.