Blood test for colorectal cancer screening now available for military members, families in Alaska

Active-duty service members and eligible family members in Alaska now have access to blood test for colorectal cancer screening with no copay.

Guardant Health, Inc., a leading oncology company, announced on January 8 that its Shield blood test for colorectal cancer screening (CRC) is now covered for active-duty service members and their families, including in Alaska, through TRICARE, the U.S. military’s health insurance coverage, with no copay for average-risk individuals ages 45 and older, according to a press release.

Colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer-related death in Alaska last year. The American Cancer Society estimated that 350 Alaskans would be diagnosed with CRC in 2025 alone, and 110 would die from the disease. The five-year survival rate for CRC is 91% five-year survival if caught early. Shield is covered by Medicare and the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network, and is commercially available across the U.S.

Shield is the first and only blood test approved by the FDA as a primary screening option for CRC, offering U.S. military troops in Alaska a more convenient option for screening.

Shield is a non-invasive, blood-based screening test that detects alterations associated with colorectal cancer in the blood and is intended as a screening test for individuals at average risk for the disease, age 45 or older, and is not intended for individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer.

According to the Department of Defense, there are approximately 1.3 million active-duty service members in the U.S. Those above the age of 45 – along with their families of screening-eligible age – will now have access to Shield, the latest innovation in CRC screening.

“Continuing to expand coverage for Shield across the U.S. from our nation’s veterans to our active-duty service members will help provide greater access to Shield’s life-saving screening benefit from just a blood draw,” said AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO. “TRICARE has a long history of bringing the most impactful technologies at the forefront of science to support our troops in being proactive about their healthcare. We’re proud to see Shield selected as a primary screening option for colorectal cancer to empower those who serve to catch cancer early when it’s more treatable.”

TRICARE coverage for Shield is a game-changer for the nearly 20,000 active-duty service members living in Alaska and their families, who now have access to a more convenient way to get screened.