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The Cologuard test — a combination of fecal immunochemical test (FIT) with specific DNA markers — was recently endorsed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force as one option for colorectal cancer screening. However, the test is expensive, averaging over US$600 for commercial payers compared with US$20 for FIT.
In an industry-funded, comparative cost-effectiveness study, researchers found that assuming optimal adherence, annual FIT and colonoscopy every 10 years were more effective and less costly than the multitarget DNA test every 3 years. In order to be more cost-effective than a successful organized FIT program, a multitarget DNA test program (every 3 years) would need consistent participation in 68% of enrollees and intermittent parti…