Updated colorectal cancer screening includes blood tests, at-home options; 60 cancer groups push back on Kennedy’s USPSTF shake-up; former CDC supervisor stole $190K with fake invoices – Morning Medical Update

Updated colorectal screening guidelines include blood test and at-home options

The changes add a blood-based test and two stool-based molecular tests to the recommended screening arsenal for average-risk adults starting at age 45.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its colorectal cancer screening guidelines to include a blood-based test and two new or updated at-home stool tests, expanding options for the more than 20 million eligible Americans who have not been screened as recommended. The updated guidelines, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, reaffirm that average-risk adults should begin screening at age 45 and continue through age 75. Colonoscopy remains the gold standard, but the new options include an updated multitarget stool DNA test (Cologuard), a new multitarget stool RNA test (ColoSense) — both recommended every three years — and a blood-based test (Shield), which is recommended only for patients who decline or cannot complete stool-based tests, as it showed lower sensitivity for early-stage cancers and precancerous lesions. Any positive result from a stool or blood-based test requires follow-up colonoscopy, preferably within six months.

The ACS noted that colorectal cancer is now the leading cancer killer of adults under 50 in the United States, and that early-stage detection yields five-year survival rates above 90%. Adults over 85 should no longer be screened, per the updated guidance.

60 cancer groups urge Kennedy to protect integrity of USPSTF

In a letter, the groups warn that U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations determine no-cost coverage for at least 16 cancer prevention and early detection services under the Affordable Care Act.

Sixty organizations representing cancer patients, survivors and their care providers sent a letter Tuesday to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to protect the scientific integrity of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), days after Kennedy fired the panel's two vice chairs. The signatories — including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Susan G. Komen, the NAACP and the American Lung Association — warned that the task force's evidence-based recommendations underpin no-cost insurance coverage for at least 16 cancer prevention and early detection services under the Affordable Care Act, including screening for breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancers.

"This year, more than 2 million people are expected to hear the words, 'you have cancer,'" the groups wrote. "The work of the Task Force in identifying evidence-based preventive services saves lives by preventing disease outright and detecting it at earlier stages, when treatment can be more effective and less invasive." The USPSTF has not met in over a year, following Kennedy's cancellation of its scheduled meetings. Five member terms that expired in December remain unfilled.

Former CDC supervisor pleads guilty to stealing $190,000 through fake invoices

Gwendolyn Brandon used her knowledge of the agency’s payment systems to direct funds to an account she controlled, unbeknownst to the employees she supervised.

A former supervisory employee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds after submitting at least 46 fraudulent invoices that siphoned more than $190,000 into an account she controlled.

Gwendolyn Brandon, 43, of Cumming, Georgia, created fictitious invoices made to appear as though they came from legitimate vendors, then used her supervisory role and knowledge of CDC’s invoice and credit card processing systems to direct employees under her — who were unaware of the scheme — to process the payments. The fraud ran from August 2023 to February 2025, with individual invoices ranging from $2,230 to $9,970. As part of her plea agreement, Brandon agreed to resign from the CDC and is barred from future federal employment or contracting. Sentencing is scheduled for September 2026.