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Exact Sciences Corp. said Thursday afternoon that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has unanimously approved its DNA-based, noninvasive colon cancer screening test, paving the way for potential market approval.

The FDA's molecular and clinical genetics panel approved the test, called Cologuard, by a vote of 10-0, signaling that members believe its benefits outweigh its risks. The FDA is not bound by the panel's recommendation but often follows its advice.

"We look forward to continuing our work with the FDA to complete its review of Cologuard and remain committed to addressing the growing unmet needs in colorectal cancer screening," said Kevin Conroy, Exact's chairman and chief executive officer.

Exact's Cologuard, which requires users to submit a stool sample, can detect early-stage cancer better than other noninvasive approaches, according to a study published online last week by the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study, which involved nearly 13,000 subjects at multiple testing sites, Cologuard detected 92% of cancers and 42% of advanced precancerous lesions.

Cologuard consistently demonstrated strong performance across cancer stages and lesion sizes, advisory committee documents said.

Another experimental DNA-based test for detecting colon cancer, the Epi proColon kit from Epigenomics, gained the panel's recommendation on Wednesday in a 5-4 vote with one abstention. That test uses a blood sample, rather than a stool sample.

The Nasdaq stock market had halted trading of Exact's shares Thursday morning before the panel's meeting. The stock resumed trading in the after-hours market.

Madison-based Exact Sciences was founded in the Boston area in 1995. Exact hired Conroy and Maneesh Arora to take over in April 2009. The two previously led Madison-based Third Wave Technologies Inc., which was sold in 2008 to Hologic Inc. for about $580 million.

Cologuard would be used as a screening test, and patients with positive results would be asked to undergo a colonoscopy, the FDA documents said. After discussions with the FDA, Exact has developed a plan to run another study with 1,830 subjects at about 20 sites to evaluate Cologuard's performance over time, the documents said.

Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, with more than 140,000 new cases reported annually, the documents said. Colonoscopy is the most accurate test, but many people shirk the invasive procedure.