Improving CRC Screening Rates With High-Quality, Noninvasive Tests, with Keith Winfrey, MD, MPH

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most preventable yet deadly cancers in the United States, and recent shifts in screening guidelines and technology are reshaping how and when clinicians approach detection. While colonoscopy remains the most accurate screening tool of choice, the screening toolkit is expanding to include more non-invasive options, including stool-based and blood-based tests, for patients who face barriers or hesitancy to colonoscopy and improve screening rates.

One such stool-based tool is Cologuard, which was initially approved in 2014. An upgraded, more accurate version, Cologuard Plus, was approved in October 2024 and has just become available to the market as of March 31, 2025.

HCPLive caught up with Keith Winfrey, MD, MPH, chief medical officer of New Orleans East LA (NOELA) Community Health Center, who has been working to help increase CRC screening rates at the center for over the last decade, at the recent American College of Physicians (ACP) Internal Medicine (IM) Meeting 2025, held April 3-5, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to learn more about recent updates to the field.

“We want patients end up with a colonoscopy. That's the end zone, and so we typically are pushing for that, but if patients aren’t ready for colonoscopy, they can't pay for it, [or other barriers], then we look to offer high-quality, noninvasive screening tests,” Winfrey said.

Winfrey touched on a few different noninvasive screening strategies in the market and noted Cologuard Plus for its high sensitivity and specificity rate. He also gave some advice on how clinicians can help support their patients to stay up to date with CRC screening, with or without a navigator team at their practice or center.

Winfrey’s disclosures include Exact Sciences.

REFERENCES

1. FDA Approves Exact Sciences’ Cologuard Plus™ Test, Setting A New Benchmark in Non-Invasive Colorectal Cancer Screening. News release. Exact Sciences. October 4, 2024. https://www.exactsciences.com/newsroom/press-releases/fda-approves-exact-sciences-cologuard-plus-test

2. Exact Sciences Launches the Cologuard™ Plus Test, Transforming Colorectal Cancer Screening. News release. Exact Sciences. March 31, 2025. https://www.exactsciences.com/newsroom/press-releases/exact-sciences-launches-the-cologuard-plus-test-transforming-colorectal-cancer-screening