Did you know that in the US, 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?
So it’s great news that 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. If there’s a history of the disease in your family or if you’re deemed at high risk because of other reasons, you’ll still need to do the invasive colonoscopy.
The California-based biotechnology company Guardant Health, announced Monday that this is the first blood test to be approved by the FDA — and it’s the first approved blood screening test for colorectal cancer to be reimbursed through Medicare. While the list price for the test has not yet been announced it is expected to be also covered by most private insurance plans.
Called’ Shield’, the test will be available as soon as next week.
The Shield test works by detecting tumor DNA in blood samples, and a physician would need to order the test and kit for their patient.