WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers has narrowly backed an experimental blood test that uses patients’ DNA to help screen for colon cancer.

The FDA’s genetic experts voted 5-4, with one abstention, that the benefits of Epigenomics’ test outweigh the risks. The vote amounts to a recommendation for approval of the company’s Epi proColon kit. The FDA is not required to follow the panel’s recommendation.