Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 30, 1993                   TAG: 9312300158
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON                                LENGTH: Medium

TEST FOR COLON CANCER GENE DEVELOPED

Only about one in 5,000 Americans carries the bad gene, but those who do are almost certain to get colon cancer.

The genetic malfunction, when inherited, causes a condition known as familial adenomatous polyposis. Victims have thousands of small tumors, called polyps, in their colons, and some eventually become cancerous.

The genetic defect is far less common than another one, reported by researchers earlier this month, that is thought to underlie about 10 percent of all colon cancer. A test for that bad gene could someday become part of routine physical exams for everyone.

The new test was developed by Dr. Steven M. Powell and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University. The test uses blood samples to detect a defective protein that is produced by the mutant gene.

In a report in today's New England Journal of Medicine, doctors said they used the test on 63 patients, and it detected the genetic defect in 85 percent.

The researchers said that more than 50,000 people in the United States could benefit from the test because of the possibility that the genetic defect runs in their families.

Those found to carry the bad gene will be checked regularly for polyps, which will be removed before they turn cancerous. Another report in this week's issue of the journal concludes that removing polyps cuts the risk of colon cancer by 90 percent.

In an accompanying editorial in the journal, Dr. Edison T. Liu of the University of North Carolina said the new test will be important to families that carry the rare genetic defect.