A preliminary examination of Exact Sciences‘ Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test showed promising data for detection of colorectal cancer and pre-cancerous polyps, the company announced recently.

“There is a significant unmet clinical need for an accurate, convenient, non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test,” Thomas F. Imperiale, principal study investigator, M.D. and professor of medicine, said in a statement. “The data from the DeeP-C trial are very promising. Cologuard may well be a future solution for slow growing polyps much before they develop into cancer.”

The screening demonstrated a sensitivity of 92 percent for the detection of colorectal cancer and sensitivity of 42 percent for the detection of pre-cancerous polyps.

“We are extremely pleased with these results,” Kevin T. Conroy, president and chief executive of Exact Sciences, said in a statement. “We believe our test could become a great tool in the fight against this terrible disease.”

Exact Sciences plans to submit the data from the study to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pre-market approval.