Posted on 07/29/2024 11:22:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a blood test to be used for colorectal cancer screening among average-risk adults 45 and older.
The maker of the test, Palo Alto, California-based biotechnology company Guardant Health, announced Monday that this is the first blood test to be approved by the FDA as a primary screening option for colorectal cancer, and it’s the first approved blood screening test for colorectal cancer that meets requirements for Medicare reimbursement. For patients with commercial insurance plans, the cost of the test may vary depending on their individual plan coverage. The list price for the test has not yet been announced.
“This is a promising step toward making more convenient tools available to detect colorectal cancer early while it is more easily treated,” Dr. William M. Grady, a gastroenterologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, said in a statement Monday released by Guardant Health.
In the United States, colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths, and this year more than 53,000 people are expected to die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. But about 70% of colorectal cancer deaths can be prevented with increased screening.
The test, called Shield, is expected to launch commercially within the next week and will join other types of colon and rectal cancer screening methods – including colonoscopies and at-home stool tests – as options that health care providers can offer their patients. A simple blood test may be more convenient for some patients while colonoscopies can feel invasive, or at-home stool tests can feel awkward.
“The test, which has an accuracy rate for colon cancer detection similar to stool tests used for early detection of cancer, could offer an alternative for patients who may otherwise decline current screening options,” Grady said ...
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
If the FDA approved it you can bet it doesn’t work and you will be dead in a year after getting a negative report!!
I got 5 (count them five) invitations to do colonrectal swab. My primary physician badgered me so I got one at the clinic. Then I started getting offers in texts and in the mail. Finally my insurance sent me a kit. I call this an obsession or fetish.
A co-worker of mine died at 39 from colorectal cancer. It’s called the silent killer cancer because by the time you show any symptoms it’s already too late.
At 69, I have had 3 colonoscopies.....................
I have a personal experience to relate that can put this in context. In early2015 I was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer.The diagnosis resulted from, initially, a blood test that indicated I had a dangerously low hemoglobin level. My doctor ordered a stool test which turned out positive for blood. Then I had a colonoscopy that established the existence of the cancer, which was successfully operated on about two weeks later. Right now I have two thirds of a colon, no indication of cancer, and am still able to use my God-given disposal facilities.
All of that says this new blood test could be really something, something very good, like a PSA test. I wish the best of luck to anyone who’s invested in this particular company.
*If the FDA approved it you can bet it doesn’t work*
The alternative. My ‘old’ physician did it the old way-stuck his finger up my young ass every year. I was beginning to think he did it because he liked it. Now it blood tests. Probably easier for them but good for me? I was willing to pay the price for that discomfort.
https://abc7.com/post/fda-approves-blood-test-detect-colon-cancer-average/15116020/
Scroll down, down the article for the info on false negatives.
I tried the Cologuard Test a few years ago and I found that it had at lest a 15% error rate. I discussed this with Gastro doctor since I was due for a Colonoscopy and we both decided it was better to go on don that rather rely on the Colonguard test.
I am skeptical a simple blood test can do the job of detecting polyps in the colon. I personally would not want to rely on that.
Oh come on. Pooping in a box is so much more fun.
“ Scroll down, down the article for the info on false negatives.”
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You’’ll find that most screening blood tests (if not all) will have a certain percentage of false negatives as well as a certain percentage of false positives. That’s why they call them SCREENING tests to see if further diagnostic tests are essential,
“If the FDA approved it you can bet it doesn’t work and you will be dead in a year after getting a negative report!!”
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Not taking the test and thus avoiding the false negative would also be followed by death within a year in your scenario. Just sayin’.
Exactly the same here. At each colonoscopy now, I tell the doctor that I'm entitled to a discount because he doesn't have as much to inspect. No luck so far.
Very true however a colonoscopy although horrible to go through is far more accurate!!
Agree like they told my brother after the operation they said you have at least 5 years left and it’s all he had after it returned.
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LOL!! I have had that, plus a lot of other stuff, all done at the same hospital here in the Knoxville area. I keep saying they ought to start issuing commuter tickets to their longtime patients. No takers so far.
Or they should issue punch cards, where you get 5 colonoscopy punches to fill your card and then you get a free one.
I had a stool test for colorectal cancer in 1996. The results were ambiguous, as were all other tests. My Oncologist was convinced that there was a tumor, and sure enough about cancer that he referred me to a surgeon for emergency surgery.
The surgeon was convinced about the cancer diagnosis, and scheduled surgery for 5 days later, putting off a non-urgent surgery. It turned out to be cancer, perhaps only recently breaking out of the tumor, as all testing was ambiguous.
“ Very true however a colonoscopy although horrible to go through is far more accurate!!”
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Absolutely. But there are some folks who have insurance that won’t cover screening colonoscopies. But they might cover colonoscopies AFTER another type of screening test was positive. For example, a few months ago I had the last screening colonoscopy that my insurance will cover because I “aged out” of the eligibility criteria (I’m a geezer) for future tests. In my case, I may pay for another one myself without insurance contribution.
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