An updated version of Freenome’s SimpleScreen CRC blood test demonstrated improved sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions (APLs), increasing from 13.7% with the previous version to 18.2%, while maintaining 80.4% sensitivity for colorectal cancer (CRC). The late-breaking findings were presented at the 2026 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting.
The updated test incorporates assay modifications to improve signal detection and refinements to its algorithm for identifying circulating tumor DNA. Validation drew on the PREEMPT CRC study, which enrolled 48,995 average-risk adults aged 45–85 undergoing screening colonoscopy. In the evaluable cohort, specificity was 90.0% among participants with no colonoscopic findings. Sensitivity for APLs with high-grade dysplasia was 41.9%.
A validated microsimulation model projected that, compared with the previous version, screening every three years with the updated test could prevent an additional 426 CRC cases and 143 CRC deaths per 100,000 adults over the modeled screening period. These are projections, not observed clinical outcomes.