Geneoscopy announced that CMS has granted Medicare coverage for ColoSense®, the first FDA-approved stool RNA test for colorectal cancer screening, expanding access to approximately 65 million Medicare beneficiaries. The company says ColoSense demonstrated 93% sensitivity for colorectal cancer, 45% sensitivity for advanced adenomas, and 100% sensitivity for Stage I colorectal cancer in its pivotal study. CMS coverage follows recent ACS guideline updates that include stool RNA testing as a preferred screening option, further validating RNA-based approaches as an emerging category in colorectal cancer screening. The decision also reflects growing momentum behind noninvasive screening technologies designed to improve participation rates, particularly…
Author: Abhay Panchal
Two gastroenterology organizations have disclosed phishing-related data breaches that exposed sensitive patient information, highlighting the growing cybersecurity risks facing healthcare providers. Gastro Health reported that employees responded to phishing emails, leading to unauthorized access to email accounts containing patient data, including medical information, Social Security numbers, and insurance details. Separately, Spokane Digestive Disease Center disclosed unauthorized access to an employee email account that exposed personal, financial, and medical information. Together, the incidents affected thousands of patients and underscore how email-based attacks remain a significant vulnerability in healthcare cybersecurity.
Kanvas Biosciences has raised $48 million in Series A funding to advance a microbiome-based cancer immunotherapy into clinical trials, highlighting renewed investor confidence in the microbiome therapeutics space. The company’s lead therapy is a live biotherapeutic containing approximately 50 bacterial strains derived from a stage IV colorectal cancer patient who achieved a complete response to immunotherapy. Built on a spatial microbiome mapping platform developed at Cornell University, Kanvas aims to improve cancer immunotherapy response rates while also advancing programs in inflammation and malnutrition-related gut diseases. The funding signals growing interest in leveraging the gut microbiome to enhance cancer treatment outcomes.
Roughly half of patients with an abnormal stool-based colorectal cancer screening result never complete the follow-up colonoscopy. For years, that statistic has been framed primarily as a public health problem. Simon Mathews, MD, a gastroenterologist in rural Pennsylvania, believes it is also an operational one. He argues that too many healthcare organizations treat the follow-up colonoscopy as someone else’s responsibility. The result is a breakdown that leaves patients without potentially lifesaving care and creates avoidable inefficiencies throughout the system.
The microbiome has become one of the biggest battlegrounds in modern medicine. Its promise is enormous: earlier disease detection, personalized nutrition, prevention-first care, and a deeper understanding of human biology. Yet many gastroenterologists still face colorful microbiome reports with unclear clinical utility and few actionable answers. Guruduth Banavar, Founding CTO & Head of Discovery AI, Viome and Dr. Michael Bass, Global Medical Director, Viome, joined me and co-hosts Dr. Neil Parikh (CIO, Connecticut GI and Chair of Innovation, GI Alliance), and Matt Schwartz (Founder and CEO of Virgo).We explored why clinicians remain skeptical of microbiome testing, how metatranscriptomics differs from traditional approaches, and what happens when biology becomes measurable long before disease becomes visible.…
The federal No Surprises Act has become a flashpoint for physician groups and payers alike as the law’s independent dispute resolution process draws criticism due to costly inefficiencies and other process issues.Here are eight updates on the NSA and plans for its reform:
Researchers at Wilmington, Del.-based ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute identified a developmental genetic pattern tied to colorectal cancer growth, aggressiveness and patient survival, according to a news release shared with Becker’s by the system May 26. The study found that disruptions in WNT and retinoic acid signaling caused colon stem cells to stop maturing and overgrow, leading to changes in HOX genes that drive cancer growth and resistance. The HOX gene network contains 39 transcription factors involved in embryonic development.
Prior authorizations remain a major barrier to IBD care, with surveys showing that nearly all gastroenterologists view them as burdensome and detrimental to timely treatment. Research cited in the article found that 90% of insurance policies were inconsistent with AGA guidelines, while prior authorizations delayed treatment by an average of 10 days—or nearly 25 days for more complex cases. These delays were associated with a 13% increase in IBD-related healthcare utilization, including emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and surgery, underscoring the growing administrative burden on both providers and patients.
Personalized nutrition is emerging as a major trend in gastroenterology, using microbiome data, biomarkers, genetics, and AI to tailor dietary recommendations to individual patients rather than relying on one-size-fits-all guidance. The article argues that advances in microbiome science and digital health are enabling more precise management of conditions such as IBS, IBD, and metabolic disorders. As platforms like ZOE and Viome scale personalized testing and recommendations, nutrition is increasingly being positioned as a data-driven clinical intervention that could improve outcomes, reduce trial-and-error treatment, and support more proactive GI care.
Mindray has expanded its Hepatus ultrasound platform, combining diagnostic ultrasound with elastography and AI-powered image acquisition to create a unified system for liver, bowel, and spleen assessment. The company says the new Hepatus 6 platform integrates quantitative liver stiffness measurements with high-resolution ultrasound, while AI-driven tools automate image capture and quality control. The launch reflects a broader trend toward consolidating multiple GI imaging capabilities into a single platform, potentially improving workflow efficiency and supporting earlier detection and monitoring of liver and gastrointestinal diseases.