Abbott's Oncodetect Shows 30-Point Sensitivity Gain in Colorectal Cancer Recurrence Study

Abbott (ABT) said Friday its whole-genome sequencing-based Oncodetect test detected colorectal cancer recurrence with 30 percentage points greater sensitivity than its whole-exome sequencing version within two years of surgery. The findings were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress, held October 23-27 in Madrid. In the Beta-CORRECT trial of postoperative samples from 279 patients, mostly with stage 2 and 3 disease, a single blood draw about one month after surgery yielded 72.2% sensitivity versus 42.2% for the whole-exome test. Among 157 patients tested with both, the newer test caught all 29 cases identified by the older version plus 15 more, all with ctDNA below 20 parts per million. Patients with detectable ctDNA faced 10.6-fold higher recurrence risk; two-year disease-free survival was 36.2% versus 92.3%. In stage II disease, detectable ctDNA carried roughly 31-fold higher risk. Oncodetect has not received FDA clearance or approval and runs at Genomic Health's CLIA-certified lab. ABT traded down 0.61% at $101.79.