Colvera, has anyone had this blood test done?

thirdtimesacharm
thirdtimesacharm Member Posts: 2
in Colorectal Cancer #1

My mother just had this new blood test done in conjuction with the CEA. It's a new FDA approved blood test that shows cancer in your DNA I guess. Basically if it comes back at even a 1 it's not good, that means it's in her blood Cry. Her past two CEA's were 25. She had a ressection on April 18th with no treatment yet. We are praying the CEA has dropped and the Colvera is 0. For a little history my mother is a 3 time breast cancer survivor and now facing this. Just curious if anyone else has had this new test. Thanks.

Comments

  • sflgirl
    sflgirl Member Posts: 220 Member
    #2
    Colvera

    Very interesting.  Here's the page I found:

    http://www.clinicalgenomics.com/products/colvera.php#.  

    Seems like the blood test is a very early predictor.  It seems that even if it comes back positive it's an advance warning system and will allow proactive actions rather than waiting for CEA results or CT scans.  It appears positive that your medical team is using this new test.  

    Wishing the best to your mom and you.  She is surely a fighter!

     

    PS Just read your other post  in the CEA string.  She's not dying if it's in her blood, but would likely be a candidate for chemo.  Make sure you ask a ton of questions when you get the results.

  • lizard44
    lizard44 Member Posts: 409 Member
    #3
    Do ask a lot of questions

    Are you sure the doctor said  that if it was in her blood they couldn't save her, or did they say they couldn't "cure" her?. I've not had the test but from what I've read it aids in  detecting markers in the DNA indicating recurrences and spread of the cancer much sooner than a CEA test so that  therapy can be started earlier. I was diagnosed with  stage 4 rectal cancer 2 years ago with mets to the liver. My oncologist does not like to use the word cure in dealing with stage 4, but her approach is  to treat it as a manageable chronic disease. I had chemo followed by chemo-radiation, followed by more chemo, then a Radiofrequncy ablation of the liver tumor, and  then more chemo. So far, so good, and I've enjoyed a good quality of life for the last two years.  Your mother has already been through so much, and I'm sure that is one of their  concerns, but she has fought it off before and I hope she can fight it off again.

    Grace/lizard44

  • steveja
    steveja Member Posts: 41
    #4
    ctDNA test

    The Colvera test can detect very tiny amounts of DNA with a specific methylation(inhibition) at either to two genes.  This inhibition pattern suggests that tumors are shedding free DNA into the blood.  The test is REGISTERED (not approved) with the FDA for colon cancer and is NOT part of clinical guidelines for CRC currently.   The Colvera test result is one bit (positive/negative) which indicates the presence/absence of the inhibited genes.

    From preliminary studies, the Colvera test has a sensitivity of 73% (true positives) and a specificity of 89% (true negatives). IOW if you test positive there is still a 27% chance of no recurrence.  That's a sloppy diagnostic, but a notch better than CEA.  No doctor following the clinical practice guidelines will give you chemo based on this test alone. They'll generally want to have imaging evidence of a solid tumor.

    --

    I had stage I CRC, resection with curative intent, but I also have several recurrence risk factors - a high pre-operative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, a CEA that never returned to normal range and is recently increasing.  So positive ctDNA test might make me a little sadder, but a negative result would be a huge relief. I'd like to be in a risk pool where 90% don't see a recurrence.

     

    I intend to get the Colvera test for peace of mind.

     

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