FDA Panel Approves Safety of Guardant Blood Test for Colon Cancer
A panel of experts advising the Food and Drug Administration voted overwhelmingly Thursday that a new blood test to screen for colon and rectal cancers is safe and effective and that its benefits outweigh its risks.But the group warned that the blood test has limitations and added that they are supporting it with the hope that it will increase the abysmally low number of people who are routinely screened for this cancer.The FDA typically follows the advice of its expert committees.In the United States, about 150,000 people are diagnosed with colon and rectal cancers each year, and about 53,000 are expected to die this year. Most people screened for the disease receive a colonoscopy or stool test. The FDA approved these methods long ago, and research has shown they are more accurate than ...