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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.
A new study by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Epidemiology confirms the need for continued colonoscopy surveillance in patients at risk for colorectal cancer, especially those with a history of precancerous polyps. It also highlights the importance for polyps, especially those that are precancerous, to be completely removed since cancer may develop at the site of polyp removal if residual tissue remains.
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.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-appointed, independent panel of doctors and scientists, raised quite a ruckus with its recommendations on the frequency of mammograms and pap smears, bucking the American Cancer Society’s recommendations by suggesting that fewer screenings were necessary for otherwise healthy women. But the task force’s opinions on colonoscopies mirror those of ACS with at least one small exception – limiting colorectal exams for patients 75 years and older.
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.
Nobody enjoys colonoscopies, but they save lives. Regular colon screenings can detect polyps even before they become cancerous. It is recommended that people begin colon screenings beginning at age 50, or earlier if they have a family history or are exhibiting symptoms such as blood in the stool. But how can you convince someone he needs to have a colonoscopy? Just have Pauly Polyp do the asking.
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.
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