Overview
- The American Cancer Society updated its screening guidance to add at‑home stool molecular tests (recommended every three years) and an in‑office blood‑based tumor DNA test as options for average‑risk adults ages 45 through 75.
- Colonoscopy remains the preferred test for people with symptoms, a family history, or genetic risk and is required to follow up any positive stool or blood screen.
- A large JAMA Oncology analysis of more than 112,000 Texas patients found that early‑onset colorectal cancer patients had generally better overall survival than older patients but that delays of more than six weeks from diagnosis to treatment were tied to a 29% higher risk of death.
- Researchers singled out language barriers and other access problems as important causes of diagnostic and treatment delays for younger patients, which reduced the survival benefit of earlier diagnoses.
- Screening rates remain low even as cases rise in younger adults and the ACS projects roughly 158,850 new U.S. cases and about 55,230 deaths in 2026, so wider testing options plus faster referral and language support could increase early detection and save lives.