New screening tests have been developed for colorectal cancer as early detection can save lives.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in U.S. adults. Early detection can prevent more than half of CRC-related deaths.
However, 40% of people in the U.S. who are eligible for CRC screening have not done it or are overdue for it. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended two grades of screening (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
Projected Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Novel Molecular Blood-Based or Stool-Based Screening Tests for Colorectal Cancer
).
CRC Screening: Traditional vs. New Blood Tests
Grade-A screening is for people aged between 50 to 75 years and grade-B screening is for people aged 45 to 49 years. Current screening methods include colonoscopy, the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), and the multitarget stool DNA test (MT-sDNA) which are of high cost and their long-term benefits are not proven.
New blood-based and stool-based screening tests, including the cell-free DNA blood test (cf-bDNA), are commercially available at $1495. The development of different screening methods has raised questions regarding the clinical and economic impacts of the novel versus new screening tests.
Effectiveness of New Blood Tests
The study compared the efficacy of novel CRC screening tests, including two different cf-bDNA tests, a next-generation multitarget stool DNA (ngMT-sDNA) test, and a FIT-RNA test, to traditional tests such as FIT and colonoscopy, using the MOSAIC (Model of Screening and Surveillance for Colorectal Cancer) model.
It was found that the cf-bDNA test can be useful for people who avoid taking other screening tests, however, it is not an effective alternative. Other new tests, ngMT-sDNA and FIT-RNA) were found to be about as effective as the traditional FIT test in reducing CRC cases and deaths. More research is needed to understand the benefits of the new tests.
Reference:
- Projected Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Novel Molecular Blood-Based or Stool-Based Screening Tests for Colorectal Cancer – (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-24-00910)
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