ACS Updates CRC Screening Guidelines to Incorporate Newer Screening Methods

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

THURSDAY, May 28, 2026 -- In an update to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guideline for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, recommendations reaffirm that average-risk adults should initiate CRC screening at age 45 years and address molecular-based screening tests. The update was published online May 27 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Andrew M.D. Wolf, M.D., from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine the potential impact of new molecular‐based screening tests -- a multitarget stool RNA test (mt‐sRNA), a next‐generation mt‐sDNA test, and a blood‐based cell‐free DNA assay -- on CRC incidence and mortality.

ACS reaffirms the recommendation for initiating CRC screening at age 45 years among average-risk adults and that screening should continue through age 75 years for those with a life expectancy longer than 10 years. ACS emphasizes that offering multiple, recommended screening options supports informed patient choice and may improve participation, consistent with previous guidelines. The next-generation mt-sDNA test and the mt-sRNA test demonstrated high sensitivity for CRC and moderate sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions, and are recommended as preferred stool-based screening options at three-year intervals, along with annual high‐sensitivity fecal immunochemical and high‐sensitivity guaiac‐based fecal occult blood tests. Blood‐based tests demonstrated lower sensitivity for both advanced precancerous lesions and stage I cancers compared with established stool-based tests, with less effectiveness for reducing CRC incidence and mortality.

"By offering more screening tools in our guideline update, more eligible adults will be able to participate in lifesaving colorectal cancer testing, helping to close the screening gap and catch more cancers at an earlier, treatable stage," senior author Robert A. Smith, Ph.D., from the ACS in Atlanta, said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

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Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-29 09:48

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