Business
New Guardant Health/Harris Poll Survey Highlights Patient Fear and Anxiety as Major Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening, but Blood Test Option Offers Hope for Change
93% of primary care providers believe patients are less likely to avoid screening if presented with an FDA-approved blood test option March is Colorectal
About this update from Guardant Health, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n93% of primary care providers believe patients are less likely to avoid screening if presented with an FDA-approved blood test option\n\n\n\nMarch is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month\n\n\n\nShield is first blood test approved by FDA as a primary screening option for CRC\n\n\n\n PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nGuardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company, today announced the results of the second annual “Closing the Gap: CRC Screening Insights” survey, which showed that nine out of ten physicians surveyed are concerned about the percentage of their patients who do not complete colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. In many cases, this is due to patient fear and anxiety, but a blood test option offers hope to increase screening rates.\n\n\nConducted by The Harris Poll, Guardant’s annual survey of American patients and physicians is released during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month to assess Americans’ understanding of the importance of CRC screening and the perceived barriers that may cause them to delay or avoid completing recommended screening. The survey polled 1,000 American adults (referred to as patients) ages 45-84, along with 350 physicians (250 primary care providers and 100 gastroenterologists).*\n\n\nMore than one out of three eligible Americans – over 50 million people – are not up to date with CRC screening, often due to the perception that traditional methods - colonoscopy and stool tests - are unpleasant or inconvenient.1 In fact, this year’s survey noted that fear and anxiety about the process is growing, providing one possible reason for the persistent CRC screening gap:\n\n\n\nClose to a third of patients report feeling fear or anxiety about the CRC screening process — an increase compared to February 2024 (29% vs 22%).\n\n\n\nSimilarly, 82% of gastroenterologists believe fear or anxiety is a barrier to their patients completing CRC screening – also up from 2024’s survey (82% vs. 67%).\n\n\n\nHaving a quicker, easier, more pleasant screening option (vs. traditional methods) is a top motivating factor for staying up to date on CRC screenings. In fact, compared to a year ago, more Americans – now 1 in 4 – say that traditional screening tests do not make it easy to screen for CRC (24% vs 18%).\n\n\n\n93% of primary care providers and 86% of Americans believe patients are less likel...