Blood-Based DNA Test for Colorectal Cancer: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

On March 15, 2024, we reported on findings from a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that examined the performance characteristics of a cell-free DNA (cfDNA) blood-based test in a population eligible for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.

The study

The multisite Evaluation of the ctDNA LUNAR Test in an Average Patient Screening Episode (ECLIPSE) clinical trial enrolled almost 8000 individuals aged 45 to 80 years at average risk for colon cancer and undergoing routine screening with colonoscopy. ECLIPSE was designed specifically to evaluate the performance of the Shield ctDNA blood test from biotechnology company Guardant Health against findings on colonoscopy.

The ECLIPSE trial of the performance characteristics of the cfDNA blood-based Shield test was conducted across 265 US study sites. The coprimary outcomes were sensitivity for CRC and specificity for advanced neoplasia relative to screening colonoscopy.

The findings

The cfDNA blood-based test demonstrated sensitivity of 83% for CRC, 90% specificity for advanced neoplasia, and 13% sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions.

Authors' comment

"The test, which has an accuracy rate for colon cancer detection similar to stool tests used for early detection of cancer, could offer an alternative for patients who may otherwise decline current screening options."

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