Abbott said its whole-genome sequencing (WGS) Oncodetect test showed 72.2% sensitivity for colorectal cancer recurrence within two years after surgery, using postoperative ctDNA readings to identify patients later found to have recurrence.
The test looks for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), small pieces of DNA released into the bloodstream by tumor cells. Abbott put the whole-exome sequencing (WES) version’s sensitivity at 42.2%, a 30-percentage-point difference. The comparison used one blood draw collected about a month after surgery.
Abbott’s WGS analysis covered 279 patients, most with stage II or III disease. Beta-CORRECT also included patients with resectable stage IV cancer. Exact Sciences says the analysis looked back at patients enrolled in a multicenter observational study that followed participants prospectively.
Among 157 patients tested with both versions, WGS registered ctDNA for all 29 patients identified by WES and for 15 additional patients. Each additional result was below 20 parts per million, and 14 were below 10 parts per million.
Abbott’s analysis put recurrence risk at 10.6 times higher for patients with a post-surgery ctDNA signal than for those without one. Two-year disease-free survival was 36.2% for the first group and 92.3% for the second. The findings show an association; they do not establish that using the test to guide care improves outcomes.
A 2025 abstract in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported 44.2% WES sensitivity at the post-surgical time point (n=241). Abbott’s newer release gives 42.2% for its WES comparison, but the reports do not specify whether they used the same patient groups and endpoint definitions.
Abbott presented the results at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress as poster 4426P. Principal investigator Dr. Takayuki Yoshino of National Cancer Center Hospital East said further research is needed to determine how the findings can inform patient care.
Abbott says its WGS test analyzes as many as 5,000 genetic markers unique to a tumor. The company says Oncodetect has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Genomic Health Inc. performs the test in a laboratory certified under Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations. Abbott expects additional follow-up and later blood draws to add evidence on how residual disease relates to adjuvant therapy and recurrence risk.
