Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common tumour in men and the second in women, and its incidence is projected to rise significantly by 2040. Survival rates and the prevention of metastasis are highly dependent on reliable early detection. However, the current participation of the general population in screening programmes is very poor, mainly due to the most reliable and established procedure (colonoscopy) not appealing to a large number of citizens, who neglect screening. What is more, CRC is steadily appearing at younger ages, so even more individuals should be eligible for screening. Given the fact that the transition from a healthy state to CRC might spread over 15 to 20 years, it is imperative that lesions are identified as soon as possible. Ideally, this should be achieved via a less invasive technique than colonoscopy, albeit with high reliability. In this scope, DIOPTRA aims to introduce a front-line screening tool based on a blood test utilising new protein biomarkers, combined with risk factors including medical and behavioural parameters. To that end, tissue & blood samples will be concurrently examined for the detection of prognostic proteins that are present in pre-malignant and malignant samples. If successful, the screening tool of DIOPTRA will be able to reliably identify in a minimally-invasive manner the individuals that are in definitive need for colonoscopy, while filtering out healthy citizens who will thus avoid an unnecessary colonoscopy. Advanced bioinformatics analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) will be leveraged for biomarker detection, assessment of prognostic power, and combination with risk factors. Overall, given the low citizen participation on CRC screening across EU, it is expected that such a tool will greatly broaden the evaluated population, boosting participation rates and bypassing age-related screening thresholds. Moreover, DIOPTRA is attempting to capitalise on the fact that CRC is now considered a highly preventable disease, by promoting personalised behavioural change based on modifiable risk factors disseminated to the public via a freely available mobile application, that will also include informative material to enhance awareness among the population.
DIOPTRA is operating under the Cancer Mission cluster of EU-funded projects on “Prevention and Early Detection (Screening)”, working together with similar research and innovation initiatives in alignment with the goals of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
