Patients

Should You Consider Colvera?

Helping You Navigate Your New Normal.

Nearly 30-50% of colorectal cancer patients will experience a recurrence, with the majority occurring within the first three years of primary treatment.1

Colvera is a simple blood test intended to help detect CRC recurrence, giving you and your healthcare provider additional information during your follow-up visits.

In a head to head clinical study, Colvera detected twice the number of recurrent CRC cases compared to CEA. Of 122 patients who were tested after completion of their initial therapy, 28 patients developed a recurrent disease confirmed by CT Scan. Colvera detected recurrence in 19 of the 28 patients compared to only 9 of 28 patients detected by CEA.1

Colvera is designed to fit into the current recurrence monitoring schedule and can be ordered and performed at the same time as CEA, providing additional information that may identify recurrence before symptoms present and cancer has spread to other areas of the body.

Talk to your healthcare provider about how Colvera can become part of your monitoring schedule.

View our Patient Brochure

 

Answers to Common Questions

What is Colvera?
Colvera is a blood test that may help detect colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence. With Colvera it may be possible to identify CRC recurrence in advance of symptoms, and possibly before other tests indicate recurrence.
How does Colvera work?
Colvera is designed to identify small amounts of altered DNA which may leak from a tumor into the bloodstream, called circulating tumor DNA or ctDNA. Colvera detects the presence or absence of two genes in ctDNA, (BCAT1 and IKZF1), that are often associated with CRC growth.  While Colvera detects changes found in most recurrent tumors, Colvera may not be positive in all patients. Colvera does not identify DNA changes that you may have inherited from your parents or pass on to your children.
What is the difference between Colvera and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)?
Colvera identifies the presence of two altered genes, (BCAT1 and IKZF1),in small fragments of DNA material that leak from a tumor into the blood stream, called circulating tumor DNA or ctDNA. CEA measures the amount of a protein that may appear in the blood of a patient with colorectal cancer. Although CEA has been used for over three decades to monitor patients, the test is not positive in many patients with cancer and may yield false positive results that can be caused by smoking and other non-cancer conditions. Head-to-head clinical evaluation in a recently published study showed that Colvera detected twice as many recurrent colorectal cancers as CEA.
How can I get tested with Colvera?
If your healthcare provider determines that Colvera is right for you, your provider can order the test during your follow up office visit. Your blood can be drawn in office during your follow up appointment or at a Quest Diagnostics® Patient Service Center (PSC) near your provider’s office. For more information, please visit the Colvera order page.
Can blood be drawn in my physicians office?
Yes. Blood can be conviently drawn in office during the time of your follow up appointment.
Do I need to be fasting before having the test?
There is no need to change or modify your diet for testing.
What is the specimen type required for testing?
Colvera only requires two 9-10 mL tubes of whole blood.  This is equivalent to about 1.5 tablespoons of blood.
How long does it take to receive my results?
Your healthcare provider will receive your test results from the Clinical Genomics Laboratory within 7-12 days.
How is Colvera reported?
Colvera reports simply indicate the presence or absence of ctDNA, which may be from recurrent colorectal cancer.

Billing

Clinical Genomics believes everyone should have access to innovative medical technology, and we are committed to ensuring Colvera is accessible and affordable.

We accept all insurance plans, and have a patient financial assistance program available based upon the patient’s financial situation. We are dedicated to excellence and are here to assist with any questions or concerns patients and family members may have.

To learn more about our  Billing Policy and Assistance Programs please call 855-400-6919 or email billing@clinicalgenomics.com.

Pay an Invoice

If you’ve received a bill from Clinical Genomics and would like to submit your payment using the online patient payment portal, click here. Please have your account number available.

 

If you have any questions, please contact our Billing Team at: 855-400-6919

(Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time)

References:

  1. Young G., Pedersen S, Mansfield S, et al. A cross sectional study comparing a blood test for methylated BCAT1 and IKZF1 tumor-derived DNA with CEA for detection of recurrent colorectal cancer. Cancer Medicine 2016; 5(10):2763-2772.