Dr. Putcha on the Results of the AI EMERGE Trial in CRC

Girish Putcha, MD, PhD, chief medical officer and clinical laboratory director, Freenome, discusses the results of the the AI EMERGE trial (NCT03688906) in colorectal cancer (CRC).

A blood-based screening assay was found to have a 94% sensitivity and specificity rate in screening for stage I/II CRC, says Putcha. Among individuals with stage III/IV CRC, the sensitivity rate was 91% and the specificity rate was 94%. The performance of the assay was similar in distal and proximal lesions, as well as in comparison with a lead-in fecal immunochemical (FIT)-based test.

Investigators also compared patients’ blood samples with stool samples. Only 52% of individuals who provided a blood sample also gave a stool sample for testing, which highlights some of the challenges with stool-based testing and patient willingness to undergo such testing, says Putcha. According to the matched samples, the blood-based assay had better sensitivity versus FIT testing at 100% versus 67%, respectively, at a specificity of 96%.