2022 · World journal of gastroenterology · open access
Emerging role of colorectal mucus in gastroenterology diagnostics
Nooredinvand & Poullis
The finding, in our words
Non-invasive self-sampling of anal colorectal mucus following defecation provides a patient-acceptable alternative to traditional stool collection for diagnosing colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. This emerging approach allows reliable measurement of diagnostic biomarkers to improve screening compliance.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
This pilot study found that a self-administered anal swabbing technique for collecting colorectal mucus was rated as acceptable by 96% of participants and yielded samples suitable for cytology and protein analysis. The method successfully detected elevated mucin 2 levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, indicating its potential for non-invasive screening.
This review establishes that microsampling across blood, saliva, urine and stool matrices offers validated workflows and regulatory recognition for human biomonitoring comparable to conventional methods. It finds that these decentralised approaches enhance participant acceptability and enable screening in remote or low-resource settings.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to raise colorectal cancer screening participation, including mailed outreach of home collection kits.
Testing 58 IBD patients, 50 IBS patients, and 33 controls found that measuring calprotectin and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) in self-collected colorectal mucus distinguishes these groups, P<0.05. This patient-centric, decentralised method successfully monitored disease activity at days 10, 20, and 30, though the authors note EDN performance requires further validation.
The study found that although participants preferred patient-centric microsampling devices for home use, the agreement with venous plasma for measuring CRP and cytokines was inconsistent, indicating that further validation is required before these methods replace standard venipuncture.