Multitarget stool DNA testing for the prevention of colon cancer: outcomes in a large integrated healthcare system

Affiliations

Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Multitarget stool DNA (MT-sDNA) testing is used in primary care as a screening test for colon cancer. Test effectiveness and patient compliance were examined in clinical practice.

METHODS: We assessed outcomes of MT-sDNA testing in a cohort study conducted in a large integrated healthcare system comprising 15 hospitals and 150 outpatient clinics using advanced electronic data capture (Clarity2 [Epic, Verona, Wisc, USA] and REDCap [Encinitas, Calif, USA]) followed by manual chart review to confirm MT-sDNA test results and to monitor the outcomes of subsequent colonoscopy.

RESULTS:A total of 6835 MT-sDNA tests were performed over 1 year between 2017 and 2018. Of 1242 patients (18%) who tested positive, 1109 (89%) were referred for colonoscopy, and 905 of them (73%) underwent colonoscopy. Eleven patients (

CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of adenoma detection by an MT-sDNA screening strategy is low, and many positive tests are not associated with significant findings at colonoscopy. Failure to follow a positive test with colonoscopy is a significant problem that needs to be considered when this screening strategy is adopted.

Document Type

Article

PubMed ID

31904379

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