A Bloomington doctor is optimistic a newly-approved blood test for colorectal cancer will encourage more people to get screened.
The federal Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has given the green light for the test, designed for individuals aged 45 and older who are at average risk of the disease.
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
In this edition of WGLT's Sound Health, Dr. Omar Khokhar, a gastroenterologist at Illinois Gastro Health in Bloomington, thinks the test will enhance early detection efforts.
“The blood test that we now have performed equivalently to the stool-based test. What I mean is it was comparable in detecting what it should detect and not picking up what it shouldn't,” Khokhar said.
He calls the new blood test a liquid biopsy, adding precancerous lesions in an individual's colon could potentially start to shed abnormal DNA fragments in the individual's blood — and that is what the blood test would look for.
Khokhar noted the blood test does not replace the more intensive colonoscopy procedure. He said the blood test is less accurate than the colonoscopy, which he said will remain the "gold standard" for testing.
He likened the new blood test to a PSA test for prostate cancer in terms of early screening reliability.
"They are good, they are not great. It's exciting. I think it's going to be a process. In the next 5 to 10 years, colon cancer screening will be a paradigm shift for an average risk person," he said. "It's really up to the patient to decide how much risk they are willing to live with."
The new blood tests are expected to be commercially available within a few weeks, providing a fresh tool for health care providers to recommend to patients.
The FDA recommends getting the blood test every three years starting at age 45.
“It is likely the FDA's approval will lead to Medicare coverage for the test, and then provide coverage for the test,” Khokhar explained, anticipating broader access to the screening method.
Khokhar hopes this approach will help bridge the gap for those hesitant to undergo traditional procedures like colonoscopies, noting many people seem to avoid getting a colonoscopy every 10 years.
"If we could capture people who are quote, unquote busy, who are quote, unquote invincible, people who live in the rural areas, people who logistically it's difficult — they don't have a driver — that's where these blood and stool tests are a very useful surrogate," he said.
Khokhar said it's still unclear how frequent patients would need colonoscopies if they continue to to produce clean blood tests.
