FOBT Brief

• Colorectal cancer has the second highest death rates of all cancers, largely due to the low rates of screening. If detected at an early stage, 90% of all colorectal cancer deaths are preventable.



• The Immunoassay Colorectal Cancer screening method results in increased patient compliance. By eliminating dietary and medicinal restrictions and by only requiring a single sample collection, patients are able to perform the collection with ease and no disruption to their daily routine.
• Getting more of the right patients to Colonoscopy. The Immunoassay method (iFOBT) is the new standard of care worldwide. It has improved sensitivity and specificity over the Guaiac method. This improvement directs more of the “right” patients to colonoscopy, leading to the earlier detection of polyps and colorectal cancer.
• Detecting colorectal cancers early can result in significant long term financial benefits for healthcare provider organizations, and for the US healthcare system and patient community. The total cost of treating later stage colorectal cancer is on the order of $200,000 per patient.
• Excellent reimbursement and increased compliance combine to yield significant financial benefits for healthcare providers using iFOBT testing (as compared to Guaiac testing). Reimbursement rates for the iFOBT screening test average $27 nationally ($22 from Medicare), versus $4 for the Guaiac test.