Colorectal cancer rates are rising in seemingly healthy people under the age of 50, and health officials are responding to the alarming trend. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently issued new guidelines that recommend colon cancer screening start at age 45 instead of age 50.
Colorectal cancer rates are rising in seemingly healthy people under the age of 50, and health officials are responding to the alarming trend. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently issued new guidelines that recommend colon cancer screening start at age 45 instead of age 50.
The influential panel concluded that starting routine screening five years earlier could prevent more deaths from colorectal cancer, which is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
“Far too many people in the U.S. are not receiving this lifesaving preventive service," said Dr. Michael Barry, the task force's vice chairperson. "We hope that this new recommendation to screen people ages 45 to 49, coupled with our long-standing recommendation to screen people 50 to 75, will prevent more people from dying from colorectal cancer."
Colorectal cancer was projected to kill nearly 53,000 Americans in 2021, according to the task force. Carl Raczkowski, M.D., is a gastroenterologist and the president of INTEGRIS Health Partners. He says he is in favor of anything that can help reduce that number.
“A colonoscopy is a simple test that can have lifesaving results. By opening up this type of screening to more people, we can effectively catch more cancers early and in turn save more lives.”
Raczkowski believes everyone should get a colonoscopy at the appropriate age, but especially those who fall in a high-risk category. Rates of colorectal cancer are higher in African Americans, Native Americans and Indigenous Alaskans. They are also higher for people with a family history of colorectal cancer; men; and those with other risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, history of smoking or unhealthy alcohol use.
The new recommendation is in line with the advice of the American Cancer Society and other groups. The task force is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine.
Tests recommended by the panel are typically covered by insurance, but individuals will need to check their medical insurance benefit policies first as there is a variation in coverage.
