New Home Test Finds Most Colon Cancers

U.S. regulators have approved a new home test that detects more than 90% of colorectal cancers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Cologuard test August 11. Like the older fecal occult test, Cologuard checks for microscopic amounts of blood in stool. But the new test also looks for abnormal DNA. This helps to find cancers that don’t bleed. The test is done at home. The person collects a stool sample and mails it to a laboratory for analysis. In a study, nearly 10,000 men and women were given 3 types of tests: a fecal occult test, the Cologuard test and a colonoscopy. Colonoscopy is considered the most accurate test for colorectal cancer. It uses an instrument to look inside the colon. Cologuard detected 92% of the cancers that colonoscopy found. The fecal occult test detected 74%.