10 Years of Cologuard®
In 2024, Exact Sciences’ groundbreaking colorectal cancer screening test celebrates a decade of changing lives. Watch to see how it all began — and what’s coming next.
A lab worker opening a plastic Cologuard container
A close-up of a person looking into a microscope
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Prologue
An unmet need
Screening is critical for detecting colorectal cancer in its early stages, when it’s more treatable.1 Yet in the 1990s and early 2000s, many people weren’t getting screened, with tens of thousands dying of the disease each year.2 Exact Sciences begins with an idea that could change the cancer landscape.
Chapter 1
Build

The screening challenge needs a bold vision and the right research to come together. A new group of leaders joins Exact Sciences. Through key collaborations, the company develops a product it believes will greatly impact the number of people getting screened for colorectal cancer — and how they screen. 

Two people in lab coats talking in a laboratory
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A lighted digital map of the United States
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Chapter 2
Validate
To prove out its new colorectal cancer screening test, Exact Sciences decides to go big. It launches an ambitious clinical study led by a noted physician and accepts an invitation to try a never-been-done approach for seeking approval from regulators. An unexpected development threatens to derail everything.
Chapter 3
Launch
The Exact Sciences team pulls together to address a staggering setback and figure out how to move forward. The company introduces a surprising method for promoting the Cologuard test to customers. As demand for the test skyrockets, the company steps up to respond.
A doctor and patient at a medical appointment
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A group of people in blue shirts at a golf tournament
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Chapter 4
Accelerate
Exact Sciences and the Cologuard brand have a pop culture moment. A high-profile annual event brings together advocates for screening and builds community among those touched by colorectal cancer. The company works to reach people who remain unscreened — especially those who face greater danger from the disease.3
Epilogue
A bright future
Ten years have passed since Exact Sciences processed its first Cologuard test. Patients, physicians, and the Exact Sciences team reflect on the test’s impact and look ahead to the next chapter in Cologuard history.
A patient opening a Cologuard box at a dining table
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References and footnotes

  1. ACS. Colorectal cancer facts and figures 2023-2025. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2023.
  2. Cancer Trends Progress Report National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, March 2024, https://progressreport.cancer.gov.
  3. Meester RG, Doubeni CA, Zauber AG, et al. Public health impact of achieving 80% colorectal cancer screening rates in the United States by 2018. Cancer. 2015;121(13):2281-2285.