ederal
health officials are strongly reaffirming their recommendation that people over
50 undergo routine screening for colorectal cancer.http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/16/health/aging/16PREV.html
ederal
health officials are strongly reaffirming their recommendation that people over
50 undergo routine screening for colorectal cancer.
In a report being published today in The Annals of Internal Medicine, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, a medical advisory group that helps set government policy, said doctors should continue performing the tests. The task force found that they were not only valuable in reducing deaths from colorectal cancer but also cost-effective.
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But health officials took no position on which of several screening methods should be used, or which combination of them. They also did not say at what age the tests might no longer make sense.
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. Doctors also screen for cancer by looking for blood in stool samples. The frequency of screening depends on the method used.
The recommendations were based on two studies, also published in the medical journal, that examined the effectiveness of screening. The lead author of both studies was Dr. Michael Pignone of the University of North Carolina.
"The consistent finding that any form of screening is superior to no screening," the researchers wrote, "supports the general conclusion that any of the commonly considered strategies are reasonable alternatives."
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