Game changer in the fight against colon cancer – KIRO 7 News Seattle

SEATTLE — There may soon be a blood test to detect colon cancer early, and it could help people get tested at home without a colonoscopy or stool test.

The Fred Hutch Cancer Center helped develop the groundbreaking test, and KIRO 7's Ranji Sinha explains why it could be a game-changer in the fight against colorectal cancer in this week's Healthier Together.

“It should really make screening possible,” says Natalie Phelps, who admits that in her 30s she never thought of colon cancer as a disease that could affect her.

“I didn't know when I got bowel cancer, I just thought I was a very unhappy 38 year old! I realized this is a growing trend,” she said.

Phelps was eventually diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

“If I had known there was a blood test, that could have been a conversation I had with my GP. It would also have helped me to be examined much earlier. It took five months to get diagnosed because everyone thought I was too young to have bowel cancer,” she said.

She is now a cancer survivor.

A blood test comes too late to help her, but she hopes it isn't too late for many others.

The test – which Fred Hutch helped develop – has shown 83% accuracy in detecting colon cancer.

Dr. Rachel Issaka is an associate professor at Fred Hutch and also the director of Hutch's colorectal cancer screening program. She says we have to wait to test but we hope it won't take too long.

“It's not commercially available yet, but earlier this year there was a colorectal cancer screening blood test whose results were published and met the FDA approval threshold,” said Dr. Issaka.

Dr. Issaka says it's a huge breakthrough and the test could help more people get screenings more quickly.

Currently, colonoscopies and home stool tests like Cologuard are the main options, but even doctors admit these can be complicated.

Dr. Issaka hopes medical approval levers will clear the test for general use.

“The FDA approved it at the end of July, and we're waiting for CMS, a panel that will determine what insurance agencies will cover – we're waiting for them to come up with a rule that insurance companies will cover this test,” said Dr. Issaka.

According to Fred Hutch, the study, called the ECLIPSE study, surveyed nearly 8,000 people aged 45 to 84 and found that 83.1% tested positive for certain markers in the blood for colorectal cancer and that positive test was confirmed by a colonoscopy became.

Only 16.9% had a negative blood test for colon cancer but later discovered it during a colonoscopy.

The blood test is not error-free, but it has a high success rate and is good for detecting early-stage cancer.

A colonoscopy is still considered the gold standard for detecting colorectal cancer, but lowering the screening age to 45 and awareness that the cancer affects more young people is leading to longer wait times for people who may now undergo screening want.

The American Cancer Society lists colorectal cancer as the second leading cause of cancer death among adults in the United States

Dr. Issaka knows that the impact of a simple blood test is huge as more young people consider screening.

“We are very excited about the potential of this blood test,” she said.

Phelps' own story with colon cancer is something she shares regularly, especially because she knows others might be surprised by the disease.

“I have no history of colon cancer in my family. “It completely threw me off,” Phelps said.

This weekend, Phelps will be taking part in the Walk to End Colon Cancer 2024 at Gasworks Park this Saturday, October 5, to raise awareness about colon cancer.

She wants younger people with ties to colon cancer to think about screening sooner.

“Yes, I really wish I had been checked sooner and with the simple blood test it could be part of your annual check-up. “I have encountered people who think that a colonoscopy is the only way to get screened for colon cancer, but there are actually several options,” Phelps said.

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