The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated its recommendations regarding colorectal cancer screening for adults between 50 and 75 years of age. The task force has advised all adults with normal risk factors of that age be screened but finds that over 85, the benefit is very small and not likely worth the risks.
Older adults should get at a colonoscopy screening every 10 years after the age of 50 and screening every 5 years with colonography or FIT-DNA screening every 3 years. No one test is better than the others in screening for cancer and each has it’s strengths and weaknesses. The updated guidelines are hoped to encourage older adults to get screened since only two-thirds of eligible adults have been tested in their lifetime.
Risk factors for colorectal cancer include a family history, a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease and older age. Most cases occur in adults over the age of 50, the median age being 68. Men and African Americans also have a increased rate of the disease and higher mortality rates than other subgroups.
The agency also advises adults over 50 and under 70 years of age take low-dose aspirin daily to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., following lung disease.
To learn more about screening recommendations visit the task force website at http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Announcements/News/Item/final-recommendation-statement-screening-for-colorectal-cancer .
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