Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening may not be a thing of the past yet, but two noninvasive screening tests are touting new data showing rates of sensitivity and specificity that are gaining on the gold-standard screening modality. New data on the cell-free DNA blood-based screening test Shield (Guardant Health) put it in the level of other noninvasive screening tests, researchers said, and improved metrics—including fewer false positive scores—of the next-generation of the multitarget stool DNA test Cologuard (Exact Sciences) show the test’s benefit for screening average-risk adults.
Cell-Free DNA Assay: 83% Sensitivity for CRC
The cfDNA test Shield demonstrated an 83% sensitivity and 90% specificity for clinically relevant CRC in a large population of individuals at average CRC risk, according to results from the ECLIPSE clinical validation trial.
“This is the first blood-based test with performance comparable to current guideline-recommended noninvasive CRC screening options,” said investigator Daniel Chung, MD, the director of the Hi-Risk Gastrointestinal Cancer Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.