The Latest At-Home Cancer Screening Tests to Know About
Published on April 28, 2026
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At-home cancer tests are a great way to learn key information about your health without having to visit the doctor in person. This option is good for patients who don’t have time to go to the doctor’s office or access to transportation, as well as those who experience anxiety during routine screenings. At-home screenings can also be convenient because they don’t require fasting or going under sedation like some in-office tests.
However, it’s important to remember that traditional screening methods like colonoscopies are still the gold standard, meaning the results of at-home tests are more likely to be inaccurate. And if you receive a positive or inconclusive result, you should follow up with your doctor as soon as possible for further testing.
PSA Finger Prick Test
PSA tests determine your risk of prostate cancer by measuring levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. You’ll need to prick your finger with the needle in the test kit — just like what would be done in a clinic — and collect a sample of blood that you’ll mail in to the lab you ordered the test from.
You can purchase these tests online from companies like LabCorp, Pinnacle BioLabs, and Quest. However, it’s important to know that most of these tests are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for at-home use.
PSA tests are recommended every two to three years starting around age 50. They should only be taken at home if you’re at average risk of prostate cancer, meaning you don’t have a family history of prostate cancer or other risk factors. If you’re unsure if you’re at increased risk, you can speak to your doctor about this. Those at increased risk should get tested at the doctor’s office instead.
Note that PSA levels can be affected by other factors, such as age, medications, or an enlarged prostate. It’s important to realize that you should review your results with a medical professional, and that high PSA levels don’t necessarily indicate cancer.
Cervical Cancer Self-Collection
Cervical cancer screening is usually done with a Pap test or HPV test during a pelvic exam at the doctor’s office. However, there are two FDA-approved at-home sample collection options, the Teal Wand and the Onclarity Self-Collection Kit, which test for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
To take the test, you’ll insert a swab into your vagina similarly to how your doctor would — minus the speculum and office visit. “The cervical self-swab is easily done by the individual,” says Ernest Hawk, MD, MPH, medical oncologist and head of the division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
These at-home tests are intended for patients who aren’t comfortable with pelvic exams for reasons such as anxiety, pain and discomfort, or history of sexual trauma or for patients with scheduling or transportation issues. Those with a history of cervical cancer, past abnormal tests, or other risk factors should not take the at-home test. If you’d like to take either test at home, your doctor must order it for you.
This test must be repeated every three years, which is more frequent than the five years recommended for HPV testing performed by a doctor. Pap smears, which are also used to test for HPV by looking for potentially cancerous cell changes, are recommended every three years between ages 21 and 30 and every five years after that.
Colon Cancer Screenings
Like other at-home screenings, colon cancer self-tests are used for people with average risk of colon cancer. This means that if you have a family history of colon cancer or symptoms like blood in the stool or abdominal pain, you’ll need to see your doctor for a colonoscopy instead. Colon cancer screening is routinely started at age 45.
At-home colon cancer tests typically involve mailing in a self-collected stool sample, though each type of test follows a slightly different process. Note that they’ll need to be mailed in a timely fashion after collecting your sample. Some of these tests can be purchased online through companies like LabCorp and Pinnacle BioLabs.
“Clearly the benefit is not going through a colonoscopy,” says Xavier Llor, MD, PhD, a gastroenterologist at Yale Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, “meaning not having to prep for one day and then losing the entire day the next day.”
Guaiac-Based Fecal Occult Blood Test (gFOBT)
The guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) checks for occult, or hidden, blood in your stool, which can be a sign of cancer or polyps, a type of abnormal tissue growth that can be precancerous. If you get a positive result, you’ll need to get a colonoscopy to learn more about the cause of the bleeding.
Your doctor may ask you to avoid certain foods or medications, such as red meat or foods and vitamins with high vitamin C, ahead of the screening. To take the test, you’ll collect samples from three bowel movements in a row, which you’ll smear onto a card provided in the test kit and mail in to the lab. The test doesn’t require a prescription, meaning you can purchase it over the counter, and should be repeated every year.
Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT)
The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) also tests for occult blood but is simpler than the gFOBT. With the FIT, you won’t have to avoid any food ahead of time. You'll also only need to collect a sample from one bowel movement, which you’ll mail to the lab in a container provided by the test kit. Like the gFOBT, this test must be repeated annually, and follow up with your doctor if you have abnormal results.
Multitarget Stool DNA Test (mt-sDNA)
Multitarget stool DNA (mt-sDNA) tests, such as ColoGuard or Colosense, look for both hidden blood and changes to the DNA or RNA in your stool, which can also be a sign of cancer or polyps. Unlike the gFOBT and FIT, you’ll need a prescription from a doctor to take this test, though it can still be mailed to you at home.
ColoGuard is included in both the screening guidelines recommended by the American Cancer Society and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and is covered by Medicare and most major insurance plans. Although FDA-approved, Colosense has not yet been evaluated in screening guidelines, which may affect whether or not it is covered by insurance.
To take the test, you’ll collect a sample from one bowel movement and mix it with a solution included in the test kit before you mail it in. The kit comes with a tool that attaches the container to your toilet for ease of collection. The test should be repeated every three years.
Pros and Cons of At-Home Testing
At-home screenings can offer more comfort and convenience than tests performed by the doctor. Still, it’s important to be aware of both the pros and the cons of doing your cancer screening at home.
The pros of self-collection include:
- Easy Access At-home tests don’t require taking the time to go see a doctor in person, which can be especially helpful for people who can’t take time off work or don’t have access to transportation. These tests usually come in the mail and include all of the materials and instructions you’ll need, making it easy to take them from home.
- Privacy Many patients feel more comfortable collecting their own sample at home. At-home colon cancer tests, for example, are much less invasive than colonoscopies, while cervical cancer self-collection is a great option for patients who find pelvic exams painful or embarrassing.
- Minimal Preparation When you get a colonoscopy, you need to fast beforehand and then go under sedation during the procedure, which can cause side effects like drowsiness afterwards. At-home screenings, meanwhile, don’t involve sedation and require little to no preparation.
The downsides of at-home testing include:
- Need for Follow-Up “It's really important to think of cancer screening as a process,” says Dr. Hawk. If you receive a positive result, he says, “The first thing is, of course, not to panic. A positive screening doesn't mean you have cancer, but it does mean that you need further evaluation.” This may mean a colonoscopy after a positive colon cancer screening result or a pelvic exam after a positive HPV self-test.
- False Negatives At-home cancer tests may miss more signs of cancer than tests performed by the doctor. During colonoscopies, for example, Dr. Llor says, “Letting us really be there through a camera allows us to really see those lesions or cancers.” Still, your chance of having cancer is significantly lower if you get a negative at-home test result. For example, mt-sDNA tests are 92 percent effective at finding cancers, while FITs are nearly 80 percent effective and gFOBTs are about 71 percent effective. “[At home tests] really make a lot of sense,” says Llor. “They rule out a lot of people who don’t need that colonoscopy.”
- Can’t Remove Polyps During colonoscopies, doctors can not only detect precancerous polyps but can actually remove them. “That's something that you can’t do with home-based tests,” says Llor.
Other at-home cancer tests not mentioned here may be available, but beware that not every test on the market is FDA-approved.
The Takeaway
- At-home tests are an easy, accessible way to learn about your cancer risk.
- At-home tests can’t diagnose cancer on their own, and getting a positive result doesn’t mean you have cancer.
- If you test positive or have inconclusive results using an at-home screening, contact your doctor for further testing.
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Resources
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- Waters Announces FDA Clearance of the Most Comprehensive At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Tool, the Onclarity HPV Self-Collection Kit and FDA-Approved HPV Assay. PR Newswire. April 8, 2026.
- In-Clinic and At-Home HPV Self-Collection Test. American Cancer Society. December 4, 2025.
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