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Federal
health officials, updating their 1996 recommendations, have
strongly reaffirmed that everyone older than 50 should be
be screened for colorectal cancer, saying new evidence proves
the testing can prevent deaths.
The United
States Preventive Services Task Force, a medical advisory
panel that helps set government policy, said in a statement
published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that it had found
"fair to good evidence that several screening methods
are effective in reducing mortality from colorectal cancer."
But the
panel said current information is insufficient to recommend
one method over another; so each patient must decide in consultation
with his doctor which test is most appropriate.
The tests
include colonoscopy, in which the entire large intestine is
viewed using a fiber-optic tube inserted in the anus, and
sigmoidoscopy, in which only the lower portion of the intestine
is examined.
A third
approach used to screen for colorectal cancer involves looking
for blood in stool samples.
"The
consistent finding that any form of screening is superior
to no screening supports the general conclusion that any of
the commonly considered strategies are reasonable alternatives,"
the panel said.
The Task
Force did not say at what age the tests might no longer make
sense.
Source:
Colorectal
Cancer Week of July 21, 2002
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