An experimental blood test can effectively and accurately detect colon cancer in middle -aged and elderly, according to a new study.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The blood test was 81% accurate in the detection of colon cancer among people with the disease and participated as research participants, researchers at the Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2025, held in San Francis.

At the same time it was 90% accurate in excluding colon cancer in healthy people.

Such a blood test could contribute to increased screening for colon cancer, leading researcher Dr. Aasma Shaukat, Gastroenterologist at NYU Medical School.

It is worth noting that according to experts, at present, about 22% of people who qualify for screening of colon cancer have never done so.

In fact, in some states, the percentage is higher than 40%.

The typical test for the control of colon cancer is colonoscopy, but patients should undergo a particularly tiring preparation for it through the bowel emptying with laxatives and then take anesthesia during the procedure.

Blood tests in the stools can also be used to check for colon cancer, but these must be done each year according to current guidelines.

“Additional screening tests are needed for colon cancer that are convenient, safe and easy to complete,” said Hshaukat.

“Until now, we only had faeces and colonoscopy tests or sigmoidoscopy. A blood test is able to improve screening rates for colon cancer, “he added.

For the study, the researchers tested the experimental blood test in more than 40,000 people aged 45 to 85 in 200 locations in the United States.

They took blood and then underwent a typical colonoscopy.

The researchers compared the results to see how precise the blood test was against colonoscopy.