• Pramod Malik.
• a Virginia Gastroenterology Institute , Suffolk , VA , USA.
• Postgrad Med. 2016 Jan 1; 128 (2): 268-72.

AbstractReview of: Imperiale TF, Ransohoff DF, Itzkowitz SH, Levin TR, Lavin P, Lidgard GP, Ahlquist DA, Berger BM. Multitarget stool DNA testing for colorectal-cancer screening. N Engl J Med 2014;370(14):1287-97. This Practice Pearl reviews the results of a prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional clinical study that evaluated the performance of a new multitarget stool DNA (or mt-sDNA) screening test for colorectal cancer (CRC) and compared it with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) in individuals at average risk for CRC. The potential impact of this test on the future of CRC screening is also discussed in a brief commentary. mt-sDNA testing is a noninvasive screening test designed to detect DNA biomarkers associated with colorectal neoplasia and occult hemoglobin in the stool. The sensitivity of mt-sDNA testing for detection of CRC was 92.3%, compared with 73.8% for FIT (p = 0.002). Sensitivity for detecting advanced precancerous lesions was 42.4% for mt-sDNA testing and 23.8% for FIT (p < 0.001). The specificities of mt-sDNA testing and FIT were 86.6% and 94.9%, respectively (p < 0.001). mt-sDNA testing thus may be a first-line screening option for asymptomatic individuals at average risk for CRC who do not want to have a colonoscopy.

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