Recent Colorectal Cancer Risk and Screening Articles

Screening increases the odds that colorectal cancers will be found at a localized stage, when the 5-year survival rate is 90%, and reduces the number of cases found with distant spread, when only 10% of patients survive 5 years after diagnosis. Furthermore, screening can identify polyps, which if removed can prevent colorectal cancer from developing. If all adults 50 and older were screened for colon cancer, we could cut the death rate from this disease in half—saving approximately 25,000 lives per year.

Read the articles below for updates on new methods and procedures for colorectal screening and more detailed information on risk factors.

Screening and Surveillance for the Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer and Adenomatous Polyps, 2008: A Joint Guideline from the American Cancer Society, the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American College of Radiology

CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2008

Accuracy of CT Colonography for Detection of Large Adenomas and Cancers

New England Journal of Medicine 2008

Five-Year Risk of Colorectal Neoplasia after Negative Screening Colonoscopy

New England Journal of Medicine 2008

Prevalence of Colon Polyps Detected by Colonoscopy Screening in Asymptomatic Black and White Patients

Stool DNA and Occult Blood Testing for Screen Detection of Colorectal Neoplasia

Annals of Internal Medicine 2008

Screening for Colorectal Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement