Too Few Younger, High-Risk Americans Get a Colonoscopy: Study
Too Few Younger, High-Risk Americans Get a Colonoscopy: Study
Those with a family history of disease should have screening at age 40, but only 38 percent do
THURSDAY, May 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A majority of people with a family history of colon cancer are not getting screened for the disease early enough, a new study finds.
Guidelines say colonoscopies should start at age 40 for people with a close relative who had colon cancer. However, only 38 percent of those people have a colonoscopy between ages 40 and 49, researchers report.
"This is an important finding, because people with a family history of colon cancer are at an increased risk for developing the disease early," said Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society, who had no part in the study.
According to the society, as many as one in five people who develops colon cancer has other family members who had the disease. The risk is doubled for people with parents, siblings or children who had colon cancer. The risk is even higher if a relative was diagnosed with colon cancer when they were younger than 45, or if more than one relative had the disease.
The reasons for the increased risk are not always clear. Cancers can "run in families" because of genes, shared environmental factors, or both.
Screening is important because early detection of cancer improves the chances for effective treatment.
Wender said several factors may explain the low rate of screening among those most at risk, he said. For one, doctors and patients may not be aware of the guidelines.
Also, people need to track down their family's medical history, which may not be easy, Wender said. "It isn't good enough to say your aunt or father had cancer, you need the details -- what kind, when did it start, etcetera," he said.
Screening for colon cancer is recommended for everyone over 50. But those with a close relative who had colon cancer should begin screening at age 40, or 10 years before the youngest age at which a relative was diagnosed, Wender said.
He pointed out that a colonoscopy is the only recommended screening method for people with a family history of colon cancer. "We no longer recommend fecal blood testing, so the only option for those at above-average risk is colonoscopy," he said.
Too Few Younger, High-Risk People Get Colonoscopy
Those with a family history of disease should have screening at age 40, but only 38 percent do
THURSDAY, May 21, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A majority of people with a family history of colon cancer are not getting screened for the disease early enough, a new study finds.
Guidelines say colonoscopies should start at age 40 for people with a close relative who had colon cancer. However, only 38 percent of those people have a colonoscopy between ages 40 and 49, researchers report.
"This is an important finding, because people with a family history of colon cancer are at an increased risk for developing the disease early," said Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society, who had no part in the study.
According to the society, as many as one in five people who develops colon cancer has other family members who had the disease. The risk is doubled for people with parents, siblings or children who had colon cancer. The risk is even higher if a relative was diagnosed with colon cancer when they were younger than 45, or if more than one relative had the disease.
The reasons for the increased risk are not always clear. Cancers can "run in families" because of genes, shared environmental factors, or both.
Screening is important because early detection of cancer improves the chances for effective treatment.
Wender said several factors may explain the low rate of screening among those most at risk, he said. For one, doctors and patients may not be aware of the guidelines.
Also, people need to track down their family's medical history, which may not be easy, Wender said. "It isn't good enough to say your aunt or father had cancer, you need the details -- what kind, when did it start, etcetera," he said.
Screening for colon cancer is recommended for everyone over 50. But those with a close relative who had colon cancer should begin screening at age 40, or 10 years before the youngest age at which a relative was diagnosed, Wender said.
He pointed out that a colonoscopy is the only recommended screening method for people with a family history of colon cancer. "We no longer recommend fecal blood testing, so the only option for those at above-average risk is colonoscopy," he said.