What the trial was testing
The CRC-PREVENT enrolled 14,263 patients with colorectal cancer. The study was sponsored by Geneoscopy, Inc. and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
The test caught 94 out of every 100 colon cancers without a colonoscopy.
JAMA · 2023 · NCT04739722
These findings — that stool test detected nearly all cancers without colonoscopy — were published in the JAMA and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 14,263 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with colorectal cancer, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
This test is now FDA-approved and available by prescription. If you're due for colon cancer screening but don't want a colonoscopy, ask your doctor if this stool test is right for you. It's not quite as accurate as a colonoscopy for catching early polyps, but it's far more convenient and works well for finding cancer.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open colorectal cancer trials
Non Inferiority Study of Preoperative Chemotherapy Without Pelvic Irradiation for Rectal Cancer
This study is a non-inferiority phase III randomised trial comparing preoperative chemotherapy alone (modified FOLFIRINOX) to chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy in patients with primary resectable locally advanced rectal cancer. The primary endpoint of the study is 3-year progression free survival. Expected 3 year PFS rate in the preoperative chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy arm is 75%. This hazard rate, in an exponential survival model, corresponds to a decrease in the 3-year PFS rate on the preoperative chemotherapy arm to 67%. The study will randomize 540 patients (270 in the chemotherapy group and 270 in the chemoradiotherapy group) in 42 french academic centers.
CRC Screening in Unscreened Individuals 45-54
The goal of this observational study is to understand the barriers and facilitators to completing colorectal cancer screening from the patient and community health center staff perspective. The main question it aims to answer is to identify system-level determinants of colorectal cancer screening in individuals aged 45 to 54. Participants will be asked to partake in one-time interviews either online or in-person and community health center staff will also be asked to take an online survey.