A new study reveals that average-risk patients may be able to wait 15 years between colonoscopy screenings, instead of the recommended 10 years, without an increased risk of colorectal diagnosis or death.
It may be safe for some to wait 15 years for repeat colonoscopy, study suggests Provided by NBC News
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New research suggests patients with an average risk of colon cancer may only need to undergo a colonoscopy screening every 15 years instead of the recommended 10.
Swedish researchers found that waiting an extra five years after a first negative colonoscopy carried about the same risk of later having a colorectal diagnosis or dying from the disease as getting screened every 10 years. Extending screening time could reduce “unnecessary invasive examinations,” according to the study published Thursday in JAMA Oncology.
Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. and the second most deadly behind lung cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends that screening begin at age 45 for people who don’t have a family history of colorectal cancer or other risk factors, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
In an editorial accompanying the new study, gastroenterologists suggested that future screening guidelines may safely be prolonged for some people, noting that “15 has the potential to be the new 10.”
While rates are going down among people over 50, colorectal cancer diagnoses are on the rise among younger people, opening up a potentially large new group of people who may require colonoscopies.
Doctors are grappling with how to best allocate appointments.
“We do not have enough gastroenterology doctors to do a colonoscopy every 10 years in everyone over 50,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, the Bloomberg distinguished professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, who was not associated with the new research.
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