FDA approves cancer-detecting blood test, allowing for more frequent screenings

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — On any given day, Dr. Christian Brown could go from office visits with patients to treating colorectal cancer through minimally invasive surgery.

Roughly one-in-25 people have an overall lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer, however, Dr. Brown says regular screening reduces that dramatically.

“Almost all colorectal cancers are preventable,” Brown said. “The most important thing for patients to know is that it’s treatable if you catch it early enough, so show up for your routine colonoscopy.”

Less than 60% of patients who are candidates for colonoscopies get the screening, but now a new FDA approval could pave the way for an easier option. It’s called the Shield blood test.

It starts detecting cancer when polyps begin to develop.

“During that process, the colorectal cancer starts to release little pieces of DNA into your bloodstream called micro-DNA,” Brown said, “which are sometimes detectable with specific blood tests.”

Research by the New England Journal of Medicine shows the Shield test was 83% effective at detecting colon cancer, however, it isn’t as thorough as the gold standard, colonoscopy, which can catch polyps before they turn cancerous. The blood test might be more convenient, though, for patients who don’t go in for their routine screenings. Possibly those who can’t take the time off work.

Currently, the test is available, but without the FDA’s approval, it costs almost $900 out of pocket.

“With FDA approval, that is going to make it more accessible for insurance companies to start paying for that test, reduce the cost to the patients at the end and we might start to see that more frequently in the future,” Brown said.

Brown believes it will likely be years before patients see the Shield blood test more frequently in the office because of that wait for insurance coverage. A positive blood test result would still require a follow-up colonoscopy to confirm the result.

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