Half full stated: "This is very favorable data, and these early stage biotech ideas tend to trade on data of this kind."
It is just not possible that a marker like CEA or CA125 if used in general screening and will indicate positive for conditions other than Colon or ovarian cancer respectively, would somehow become a very selective marker for general screening by combining it with a marker that has no selectiviy at all and end up with a test that has ZERO false positives. That is just not possible.
You can easily see the design of this study.
X number of known colon cancer samples and Y number of known normal samples. No known normal samples tested positive for both RECAF and CEA. Specificity = 100%.
Of the known colon cancer samples, both RECAF and CEA were positive on 92% of the colon cancer samples. Sensitivity = 92%.
Now, lets toss in a few breast cancer samples, rectal cancer samples or other cancers where CEA might test positive into the canser samples. How many of those will test positive with CEA. Probalby quite a few. How many would test positive with RECAF. Probably quite a few.
Now, does a combination of CEA and RECAF screen for colon cancer alone? Not by a longshot. It would screen for any conditon that would give both a positive for RECAF and a positive for CEA and would again leave the doctor unsure as to the location of any cancer.
Half full stated: No. We are far from done with the NEWS!!!
Can you hear the big one coming?"
He seems to be full of undisclosed inside information.
