# Oncotype DX Colon Recurrence Score

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/oncotype-dx-colon/  
OnCo record `oncotype-dx-colon` (Test). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A tissue test for stage II and some stage III colon cancers that estimates how likely the cancer is to come back after surgery.

## Summary

Exact Sciences states that "This 12-gene test, with 7 cancer-related genes and 5 reference genes" is "clinically validated to quantify the risk of recurrence in patients with anatomic stage II, T3 or T4, MMR-P, or stage III A/B colon cancers". In the QUASAR validation of 1,436 patients with stage II colon cancer, three-year recurrence risks were 12, 18 and 22 per cent in the low, intermediate and high groups, and the treatment score did not predict benefit from chemotherapy (Gray 2011). Palmetto MolDX article A53106 gives billing instructions for it under CPT 81525, whose code descriptor reads "mRNA gene expression of 21 genes", which does not match the maker's 12 genes; the article does not itself state coverage.

## Fields

- Kind: Test
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: Oncotype DX Colon Cancer Assay
- Tags: test; rna
- Brand: Oncotype DX Colon
- Modality: Gene-expression prognostic assay (12-gene RT-PCR, colon cancer)
- Mechanism: Reverse-transcription PCR of seven cancer-related and five reference genes in resected colon tumour tissue gives a recurrence score.

## Notes

- What a result means: a low score points to a lower chance of recurrence after surgery; in the validation study the score did not say who benefits from chemotherapy.

## Sources

- Exact Sciences: Oncotype DX Colon Recurrence Score: https://www.exactsciences.com/cancer-testing/oncotype-dx-colon-recurrence-score-treatment
- CMS article A53106: MolDX: Oncotype DX Colon Cancer Assay Update: https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/article.aspx?articleid=53106

## Connected records

- drugs: [Oncotype DX](https://onco.cc/drugs/oncotype-dx/)
- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/)
- technologies: [Gene-expression prognostic assays](https://onco.cc/technologies/gene-expression-prognostic-assays/), [RNA sequencing & expression profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/rna-seq/)
- companies: [Exact Sciences (Abbott)](https://onco.cc/companies/exact-sciences/)
- key papers: [Validation study of a quantitative multigene reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for assessment of recurrence risk in patients with stage II colon cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-gray-oncotype-colon-quasar-j-clin-oncol-2011/)

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