The researchers identified 393 Medicare patients who were previously noncompliant with another form of colorectal cancer screening; these patients had either undergone colonoscopy more than 10 years ago or had undergone a fecal occult blood test more than one year ago. Those who tested positive after multitarget stool DNA test were encouraged to receive a diagnostic colonoscopy.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Over the course of a year, 77 providers at the multispecialty group practice ordered 393 multitarget stool DNA tests; 88.3 percent of these patients complied with the test.
2. The multitarget stool DNA test turned up negative in 85.3 percent of patients and positive in 14.7 percent of patients; 96.1 percent of the positive patients complied with the follow-up colonoscopy recommendation.
3. Of those who underwent follow-up colonoscopy, 8.2 percent had colon cancer, 42.9 percent had advanced adenomas, 30.6 percent had non-advanced adenomas and 18.4 percent were determined to be a negative result.
The researchers concluded: “Mt-sDNA provided medical benefit to screening noncompliant Medicare population.”
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