The use of M2-pyruvate kinase as a stool biomarker for detection of colorectal cancer in tertiary teaching hospital: A comparative study.

Purpose Guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) has been the standard for colorectal screening but it has low sensitivity and specificity. This study evaluated the use of faecal tumour M2-pyruvate kinase (M2-PK) for detection of colorectal cancer and to compare with the current surveillance tool; guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) in symptomatic adult subjects underwent colonoscopy. Methods Stool samples were collected prospectively from symptomatic adults who had elective colonoscopy from September 2014 to January 2016 and were analysed with the ScheBo® M2-PK™ Quick test and laboratory detection of faecal hemoglobin. Results The results were correlated to the colonoscopy findings and/ or histopathology report. Eighty-five subjects (mean age of 56.8 ± 15.3 years SD) were recruited with a total of 17 (20.0%) colorectal cancer and 10 (11.8%) colorectal adenoma patients. The sensitivity of M2-PK test in colorectal cancer detection was higher than gFOBT (100.0% vs 64.7%). M2-PK test had a lower specificity when compared to gFOBT (72.5% vs 88.2%) in colorectal cancer detection. The positive and negative predictive value of M2-PK test and gFOBT were (47.2% and 100.0%) and (57.9% and 90.9%), respectively. Conclusion Faecal M2-PK Quick test has a high sensitivity for detection of colorectal cancer when compared to gFOBT, making it the potential choice for colorectal tumour screening biomarker in the future.