Here are five updates that changed the landscape for colorectal cancer detection and treatment in 2024:
1. Olympus and NTT developed the world's first cloud-based endoscopy system that processes endoscopic videos on the cloud. The system leveraged IOWN all-photonic network technology, which can resolve network issues commonly faced by cloud-based endoscopy systems.
2. The FDA approved the Cologuard Plus test, a next-generation multitarget stool DNA test approved for patients at an average risk for colorectal cancer. In a trial of 19,000 patients, the test demonstrated 95% overall cancer sensitivity and 43% sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions at 94% specificity.
3. In July, the FDA approved a new screening test for CRC that only requires a sample of blood. The test, created by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Guardant Health, was able to detect 83% of colorectal cancers in studies, but only 13% of dangerous polyps. Colonoscopies find approximately 95% of these polyps.
4. Colorectal screening among 45- to 49-year -olds has increased threefold since 2021, according to an Oct. 3 study published in JAMA Network Open. In 2021, an advisory panel lowered the recommended age for when people should begin colon cancer screenings from 50 to 45. On average, the researchers found colorectal screening rates among people ages 45 to 49 increased from around 0.5% before the 2021 guidelines to 1.5% a year and a half after the change. Though 1% seems small, researchers noted that it could encompass hundreds of thousands of people, according to the study.
5. The cost of initial cancer screenings in the U.S. hit $43.2 billion in 2021, but according to an analysis by the Lown Institute, that number could be an underestimate. The institute found that nearly half of older adults were overscreened for colorectal, cervical or breast cancer. An evaluation found that across six studies that included 250,00 colonoscopies, the rate of overuse ranged from 17% to 25.7%.