Going the Distance — The Case for True Colorectal-Cancer Screening

Available screening methods should make it possible to prevent most deaths from colorectal cancer. Almost all colorectal cancers arise from adenomatous polyps that develop over a period of years. During this time, polyps can be detected and then removed by colonoscopic polypectomy.1 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American Cancer Society, and a multidisciplinary expert panel assembled by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and the American Gastroenterological Association, as well as other groups, have all recommended screening for colorectal cancer.26 Standard recommendations include annual testing for fecal occult blood and periodic sigmoidoscopy after the age . . .