COLOALERT® — Home Bowel Cancer Screening Test

Bowel cancer is one of the most treatable cancers when it is found early. The difficulty is that it often causes no symptoms at all in its early stages, and the standard home test looks for one thing only: blood.

ColoAlert looks for five.

From a single stool sample collected at home, the laboratory measures haemoglobin, the haemoglobin–haptoglobin complex, human DNA, and mutations in the KRAS and BRAF oncogenes. Because it does not rely on bleeding alone, it can pick up signals from tumours that are not bleeding on the day you take the sample.

No bowel preparation. No clinic appointment. No sedation. You collect at home, post it in the pre-paid packaging, and the result comes back as a password-protected report in about ten days — two to three days in transit and seven laboratory days.

If anything comes back abnormal, a GP reviews it and explains what it means and what to do next.

Where your sample is analysed

Samples are analysed by biovis Diagnostik MVZ GmbH in Limburg-Eschhofen, Germany. biovis is part of the Sonic Healthcare group, one of the largest pathology groups in the world, and its laboratory is accredited by the German national accreditation body to DIN EN ISO 15189:2024. biovis developed the assay and runs it in their own laboratory, and samples are analysed there exclusively. The DNA stabiliser in the collection tube is what makes the journey possible.

What's in the box

• Two collection tubes with stabilising buffer

• Collection paper and step-by-step instructions

• Pre-paid UN3373-compliant return packaging

• Password-protected report by email

• GP review of any abnormal result

Is this right for me?

Suitable for

• Adults from around 45 with no bowel symptoms

• Anyone not yet invited to NHS bowel screening, or testing between rounds

• A family history of bowel cancer where colonoscopy is not yet indicated

• Anyone who has declined the NHS test or a colonoscopy and would otherwise not test at all

Not suitable if

• You have any bowel symptoms — bleeding, a change in bowel habit, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain or new fatigue. See your GP instead.

• You are menstruating, or have actively bleeding haemorrhoids, bleeding gums or gastritis

• You have diarrhoea at the time of collection

• A colonoscopy has already been recommended to you

What this test can and cannot tell you

ColoAlert is a screening test, not a diagnostic one.

An abnormal result does not mean you have cancer. It means further investigation is warranted, normally a colonoscopy. A GP will talk you through it.

A normal result is reassuring but is not a guarantee. No screening test finds every cancer, and your result reflects the day you took the sample. If you develop symptoms afterwards, see your GP — do not be reassured by an earlier normal result.

This test does not replace NHS bowel cancer screening. If you are invited, take part.

Questions

How long do results take?

About ten days from posting — two to three days in transit and seven laboratory days. Post Monday to Thursday so your sample is not sitting in the postal system over a weekend.

Why does my sample go to Germany?

biovis developed and runs the assay in their own accredited laboratory, and the test set is manufactured by them. biovis is part of the Sonic Healthcare group and is accredited by the German national accreditation body to DIN EN ISO 15189:2024. Samples are analysed there exclusively.

Is it as good as a colonoscopy?

No, and nothing is. Colonoscopy remains the gold standard because it looks directly at the bowel lining and can remove polyps during the procedure. ColoAlert is a first-line test for people without symptoms who are not due a colonoscopy.

How is it different from the NHS home test?

The NHS test measures blood in the stool. ColoAlert measures blood too, plus the haemoglobin–haptoglobin complex, human DNA and KRAS and BRAF mutations — five signals rather than one.

What happens if my result is abnormal?

A GP reviews it and contacts you to explain what it means. You will need a colonoscopy, arranged through the NHS by your own GP or privately. We provide a written summary you can take to your GP.

How accurate is it?

Performance depends on the stage of the cancer and on which marker detects it. The published study of the marker panel is available on request, along with an explanation of how the assay as run differs from the published configuration. We would rather send you the detail than quote you a single number.

Can I use this if I have symptoms?

No. See your GP. Symptoms need investigating properly and a screening test only delays that.