In colorectal cancer, patients are often diagnosed after the cancer has progressed too far to be effectively treated. New techniques for early detection will allow us to intercept cancers before they develop. Identifying biomarkers and developing targeted therapeutics to treat colorectal cancer before it starts are major efforts currently underway at Johnson & Johnson.
Our clinical trials in colorectal cancer interception explore how we can discover and disrupt biological processes that enable the growth of tissue that eventually becomes cancerous. We are also exploring stem cell properties, including how they self-renew, and the related hypothesis that tumors are proliferated by a type of cancer stem cell.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, accounting for approximately 10% of all cancer cases and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
We are also pursuing ways to prevent and arrest the development of malignancies of the colon and rectum by diagnosing and treating precursor lesions. Our vision for eliminating colorectal cancer involves identifying and treating people who may develop the disease so early that the colonoscopy becomes a tool to confirm the absence of malignancies rather than to catch those malignancies early.
