Exact Sciences Sent doctor prescribed colon test kits. Madison WI

A colonoscopy has ~89-95% sensitivity and ~89% specificity for small tumors, which is similar to this test.  And $500 is a hell of a lot cheaper than a colonoscopy, which is around $3000.  And again, it's a binary test.  It's not approved for anything else, so it is literally against the law for the company to give you any additional information.  It's very much an appropriate choice for someone at a low risk of colon cancer where a colonoscopy is not justified by the level of risk.  It's not a good choice for someone at a high risk of colon cancer, and the prescribing information says as much.  The doctor should have advised you of that.  But it is definitely not a ripoff.

You can read this paper for more info: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8989803/

All slick / psyops marketing and no real substance - a further example, like Holmes @ Theranos; except more sophisticated and better connections to the Pols on K Street.

'oscopies are no fun and they are not 100% either, but a heck of a lot better than +/- 20% with CG.

CG's a ripoff, IMHO becaue for $500 a pop, there is actual no use for the binary result either statistical or diagnostic without knowing which (if any) of the 11 markers was triggered, in order to guide the GI or primary doc towards a target. Rembrandt did't use a 6" chip brush to paint...

Me: D.Sc. Electrical/Biomedical @ USC

It's a prescription test, so you would have had to have a doctor refer you.  The patient information booklet has all that information, including the sensitivity and specificity numbers.   These are fairly typical for a lab screening test, and obviously this would only be a good option for someone at a very low risk of colon cancer, where a negative test result would possibly allow you to skip a colonoscopy. There's a reason doctors usually recommend a colonoscopy, rather than lab tests.  That's the gold standard.

Also, why does it matter which biomarkers were triggered?  It's a qualitative lab test, it is only validated to give a yes/no answer.  Giving you information about the internal workings of the test would only enable misuse, and the FDA would not be OK with that.

Talk to your doctor, but a positive result doesn't indicate anything except that you need a colonoscopy.  Most likely it's just a polyp that they can remove.