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Supporting CRC Screening in the Clinic, with Charles Vega, MD
Vega discussed recent efforts in the public health field and his own center that have helped to improve screening rates.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to pose a significant public health challenge—highly preventable with timely screening, yet still a leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. In response, both clinical guidelines and available technologies are evolving to improve early detection and expand access. While colonoscopy remains the gold standard, recent advances have introduced more non-invasive options aimed at reaching patients who might otherwise delay or forgo screening.
Among these tools is Cologuard, a stool-based test first approved in 2014.1 Its next-generation version, Cologuard Plus, received FDA approval in October 2024 and officially launched on March 31, 2025.2
HCPLive caught up with Charles Vega, MD, Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at University of California, Irvine, around 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. Vega also stressed the importance of public health efforts to emphasize the importance of early screening.
“We more than doubled screening rates in our practice, and I don't think it was that big an effort. It didn't take that much of an outlay of money or person power. I think everybody can do this, and trust me, it's worth it, because at the end of the day, you're preventing not just mortality related to CRC but a lot of morbidity, because you're detecting this cancer so earlier and making it easier to treat,” Vega said.
Vega’s disclosures include Boehringer Ingelheim and Exact Sciences.
REFERENCES
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
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
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