Powerful AI Tools, New Blood Test Among Latest Colon Cancer Breakthroughs

With emerging technologies, doctors are better equipped to diagnose and treat the disease

Sari Harrar,

AARP

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Published September 27, 2024

digital illustration of a colon cancer screening

Ollie Hirst

John Lloyd put off colon cancer screenings for years. When he finally had his first colonoscopy, at age 56, it found a tumor the size of a lemon. “I was lucky,” he says. “It was stage 3 cancer that hadn’t spread beyond some lymph nodes.”

Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery wiped out his cancer. Now Lloyd, 72, president of an electrical contracting firm in Durham, North Carolina, gets colonoscopies every three years. But his most recent colonoscopy came with a high-tech twist: artificial intelligence to help spot polyps that can become cancers.

“It’s like having another set of eyes,” says Neeraj Sachdeva, M.D., of RMG Gastroenterology in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It allows you to do a more meticulous exam.”

A traditional colonoscopy relies on the eyes of the doctor, yet some types of abnormal growths in the colon can be hard to spot. GI Genius from Medtronic, the first AI-assisted colonoscopy system available in the U.S., got marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021; others are coming out.

The computer-aided system swiftly analyzes in real time the high-definition video images from a doctor’s endoscope (the tiny camera used to examine the interior walls of the colon during a colonoscopy). Potential trouble spots are highlighted in a green-edged box on the monitor viewed by the doctor.

It’s estimated that in 2024, 152,810 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer; 53,010 will die, according to the American Cancer Society.

Colonoscopy lowers cancer risk by finding precancers and removing them, Sachdeva says. AI has made colonoscopies even more accurate: In one study, the technology boosted the discovery of growths from 33 to 42 percent in doctors who were considered experts at performing colonoscopies and analyzing results, finding early cancers and reducing the rate of future tumors.

“Colorectal cancer mortality is going down because we’re picking up more cancers and precancers as more people get screened,” Sachdeva says. But some midlife and older adults aren’t getting checked.

“The technology is there,” says Sachdeva. “If we catch your lesion early, taking care of it is simple. You can avoid chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.”

New blood test expands screening options

Another breakthrough in colon cancer screening is a blood test that can detect certain cancer signals that have been shed from a tumor. Doctors say the new option could increase screening participation in adults turned off by other colorectal tests.

The blood test, from Guardant Health, gained FDA approval in July after a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that it detected 83 percent of colorectal cancer found during colonoscopy screening of people with average colorectal cancer risk. The blood-based test is a good option for those who choose not to have a colonoscopy or do stool-based testing, study coauthor William M. Grady, M.D., a gastroenterologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, told AARP.

A positive result with the blood test isn't a diagnosis, however. If the test finds tumor material in the blood, the next step is to do a colonoscopy — still considered the gold standard — to confirm whether cancer is present.

The blood test had been available for doctors to order prior to the FDA’s green light. Its approval, however, likely makes it more affordable and accessible.

More cancer breakthroughs

Prostate cancer therapy spares healthy tissue: A new treatment for one type of metastatic prostate cancer delivers radiation directly to prostate tumor cells and spares healthy tissue. Approved by the FDA in 2022, Pluvicto is a type of cancer treatment called theranostics, in which the body is scanned so doctors can identify where the cancer is, followed by treatment that attaches to the targeted cancer cells before releasing radiation. The median overall survival of those who received Pluvicto plus the best standard of care (BSoC) increased by four months compared with those who received the BSoC alone.

A better way to check lymph nodes for cancer: Surgeons typically remove additional tissue during cancer surgeries so that lymph nodes can be checked for cancer. It’s a challenging, time-consuming task, and lymph nodes are frequently missed. A new imaging system called InVision uses shortwave infrared light to highlight lymph tissue. In an ongoing study of about 100 patients, 4 percent were found to have cancerous lymph nodes previously overlooked by doctors.

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