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Colonoscopy Benefits Last Longer Than Thought
Study finds the screen may protect more than the recommended 10-year interval
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
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TUESDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- For people under the age of 80, a colonoscopy might provide benefits that last beyond the 10 years now recommended as the interval between procedures, a new study finds.
On the other hand, a second study finds the screen may only provide minimal benefit to people aged 80 or older.
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While both findings provide valuable guidance to patients and doctors, the decision to undergo a potentially lifesaving colonoscopy "is best determined by the individual and the physician. Anyone who is not being screened should have that conversation with their doctor," said Timothy R. Church, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis.
Church wrote an editorial that accompanies both studies, which are reported in the May 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A colonoscopy looks for colon polyps that could become cancerous over time. One of the studies was done by researchers at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. They found that the benefit of a colonoscopy, in terms of reducing the risk of developing cancer, may last beyond the 10 years now recommended as the interval between procedures.
The second study, done at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, found that colonoscopy provides minimal benefit in terms of extended life expectancy for people over 80.
Both studies were observational -- that is, they simply looked at the medical records of people who underwent the procedure in clinical practice, instead of following people over time, as might happen in a controlled trial.
The Manitoba study involved data on nearly 35,000 Canadians whose colonoscopies turned up no polyps. Over the next 10 years, the incidence of colon cancer in those individuals was 72 percent lower than in the general population, the researchers found.
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Last updated 5/23/2006
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SOURCES: Timothy R. Church, Ph.D, professor, environmental health sciences, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis; Robert Smith, Ph.D, director, cancer screening, American Cancer Society, Atlanta; Stephen Shibata, M.D., director, gastrointestinal program, City of Hope Cancer Center, Duarte, Calif; May 24/31, 2006, Journal of the American Medical Association
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