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People considered “low risk” for colorectal cancer are having too many colonoscopies, and not enough patients considered “high risk” for the disease are having timely follow-up procedures, according to researchers with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
“In the emergency room, I end up diagnosing a lot of cancer,” says Dr. Mylissa Graber, medical director of the emergency department at West Palm Beach’s Good Samaritan Medical Center. “People don’t go to the doctor, don’t follow up on getting their tests done, and show up when (diseases) are pretty advanced,” she said to the Palm Beach Post.
Yet another biotech company is diligently working to find a safer, less invasive test besides a colonoscopy to detect cancers of the colon and rectum. EDP Biotech Corporation of West Knoxville, Tenn., has announced that it is seeking FDA approval of a blood test to detect colon cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages.
The rate of new colorectal cancer cases and deaths from colorectal cancers has declined, according to a report from leading health and cancer organizations. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among men and women, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
A Madison, Wis., company is developing a less invasive way of screening for colon cancer that it hopes will take the place of uncomfortable colonoscopies and increase the number of people willing to be screened for colorectal cancers. Exact Sciences Corp., has developed a DNA-based test that can detect colorectal cancer through a stool sample. Even more convenient than a colonoscopy for the patient, the test can be administered at home and sent to a lab for analysis.
Forty-eight people who are out of work or without health insurance received free colonoscopy screenings at a Knoxville, Tenn., gastrointestinal clinic over the weekend. Gastrointestinal Associates (GIA) planned the event, called GIA Screening Colonoscopy Day to help those less fortunate and to make everyone aware of the need for colon screenings.
Many physicians who perform colonoscopies are beginning to ask their patient for a second cleansing of the bowel in the wee hours before their procedures to ensure the bowel is clean and reduce the need for a redo.
A study by a group of Italian researchers shows that virtual colonoscopies that use computer tomography scans are almost as effective at detecting tumors and precancerous lesions as standard colonoscopies, which requires threading a camera through the colon. The study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that the new procedure may offer an alternative to people who are too embarrassed or afraid to undergo a standard colonoscopy.
In his health care speech last week to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama argued that “there is no reason we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse. That makes sense.” It makes sense, too, to the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), which has long supported the lifesaving potential of screening by colonoscopy specifically because it can detect and remove pre-cancerous polyps and thereby prevent the development of colorectal cancer.
Colonoscopies are serious business. The procedure involves sending a small camera inside the colon to search for abnormalities, including colon or rectal cancers, also known as colorectal cancer. Regular colon screenings can find polyps even before they become cancerous. By removing those polyps, one can literally dodge colorectal cancer.
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