Guidelines for Colon Cancer Screening

Colon cancer screening has become a routine part of screening for healthy people. The screening tests available are recommended for those older than age fifty and earlier in those with a strong family history of colon cancer. There are several screening tests out there with the “gold standard” being the colonoscopy. It is recommended at age 50 and every ten years after that if the test is negative. Colon cancer screening is done until the age of 75 and then is done on a discretionary basis after that.

There are other tests you need to consider for the screening of colon cancer. These include the following:

· A fecal occult blood test using high sensitivity screening is also called an FOBT. This is a test that checks for blood in the stool and can be done yearly to screen for problems in the colon. It is a highly sensitive test with a high false positive rate. This makes it difficult to use these tests because they result in unnecessary further testing if positive. Many things can result in blood in the stool that aren’t cancer.

· A flexible sigmoidoscopy uses a lighted tube that passes up to sixty centimeters into the lower colon. It should be done every five years and checks the part of the colon that is most likely to become cancerous. It does not check the whole colon, however, so it is an incomplete screening test for colon cancer. If a person is found to have polyps in the rectosigmoid portion of the colon, a colonoscopy can be done as a follow up test.

· The gold standard, as mentioned, is the colonoscopy. It is a lighted flexible tube that can travel to the cecum or most proximal portion of the colon. It is used as a primary screening test every ten years and as a follow up test every time a lesser test is shown positive. Doctors can take samples of suspicious tissue and can remove polyps if any are found. It can also be a good test to do when there are symptoms of colon cancer or any abdominal symptoms whatsoever.

Those at higher risk of getting colon cancer by virtue of having polyposis or a family history need to be evaluated more regularly than every ten years. If you reach the age of 75 and are still healthy and vibrant, you might talk with your surgeon or family doctor about continuing the screening for colon cancer and you should have the test at least every ten years or sooner, because colon cancer increases in rate with age.