Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE:DGX) introduced a new blood test with the potential to identify colorectal cancer by detecting chemical changes in specific strands of genetic material.
Quest Diagnostics plans to market its new ColoVantage test as a supplement to other screening tools such as colonoscopy and fecal occult blood tests. Company officials said in prepared remarks that while ColoVantage has not yet been clinically validated, they hope the relative ease of a blood test would convince individuals who previously have passed on more invasive tests to be screened.