Lack of Knowledge About Colon Cancer Screening

Colorectal Cancer Finding #1: Survey Reveals Lack of Knowledge About Colon Cancer Screening

According to a recent consumer survey, Americans have a poor grasp on when and why to get tested for colon cancer.

The most startling result was that 38% of people over age 50 were able to name a judge on the hit television show “American Idol,” yet only 34% knew they were at risk for colon cancer. Women were less likely than men to believe they were at risk, although the risk of colon cancer is equal in men and women. Seventy percent of those over age 50 believed that getting tested for colon cancer could reduce their risk of colon cancer, but less than half (44%) knew when they should start testing (the answer is age 50).

Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer in the United States: Estimates suggest that 146,000 people were diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005 and 56,000 died from it. Screening tests are very effective in detecting colon cancer, and the chance of surviving colon cancer is greatest when the disease is caught early. The American Cancer Society encourages all Americans age 50 and over to talk to their doctor about colon cancer screening tests. Reported by the American Cancer Society and published online at www.cancer.org.

Colorectal Cancer Finding #2: Sigmoidoscopy Misses Two Thirds of Colorectal Cancers in Women

Research suggests that flexible sigmoidoscopy, a screening test for colorectal cancer, is not as accurate in women as in men. In the study of 1,463 women (age 50–79) who underwent colonoscopy for routine colorectal cancer screening, 5% were found to have advanced colorectal cancer. The researchers estimated that if a sigmoidoscopy -- which examines only the rectum and lower portion of the colon -- had been performed, two thirds of these cancers would have been missed because they occurred too far up in the colon to be detected by sigmoidoscopy.

A colonoscopy examines the entire colon and rectum. When the results were compared to those of a similar study in men, sigmoidoscopy was half as accurate in women: While 66% of men would have had advanced colon cancers detected via sigmoidoscopy, only 35% of advanced colon cancers in women would have been found.

Based on these data, a colonoscopy is the preferred method of screening for colon cancer in both men and women. Even though a sigmoidoscopy is easier and less costly to perform and can be done without sedation, a colonoscopy is the gold standard screening test for colon cancer and is the one you should opt for, especially if you are a woman. Reported in The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 352, page 2061).