The study, published March 14 in the The New England Journal of Medicine, tested Guardant’s Shield blood test to colonoscopies in nearly 8,000 people ages 45 to 84. The participants’ blood test and colonoscopy results were compared.
Among participants with confirmed colorectal cancer cases through colonoscopy, 83.1% also tested positive through blood tests, according to a Fred Hutch news release. The blood tests picked up on DNA shed by tumors, called circulating tumor DNA, and was most sensitive to colorectal cancers, including those in the early stages. However, the tests were less effective at detecting precancerous lesions.
The blood tests had a similar accuracy rate as at-home stool tests but are not as sensitive as a colonoscopy, researchers said.
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