A Blood-Based Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Description Within the United States (US), colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the fourth most common malignancy and is responsible for over 50 000 deaths annually, second only to lung cancer in cancer mortality. Despite increased public awareness and increasing screening rates, the US remains far below the 80% screening mark set by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable at 59%. The addition of non-invasive blood-based tests for CRC screening could potentially increase screening rates and lower CRC deaths. I performed a PubMed search using the search term "blood-based colorectal cancer screening." I was particularly interested in articles that looked at Shield, which is the first and (currently) only blood-based DNA test that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to screen for CRC. The FDA approval for Shield was based on 1 large cohort trial (ECLIPSE), the results of which were published in Gastroenterology in March 2024. This brief synopsis will detail the major parts of that study and layout the potential benefits, risks, and cost analysis of implementing this test into routine practice.