Colon cancer screening should begin at 45: US doctors

Screening for colon cancer should begin earlier, at age 45 instead of 50, due to an uptick in colorectal tumors among younger people, the American Cancer Society said today.

The new guidelines came after research showed a 51 per cent increase in colorectal cancer among people under 50 since 1994, and an accompanying rise in death rates.

"When we began this guideline update, we were initially focused on whether screening should begin earlier in racial subgroups with higher colorectal cancer incidence, which some organizations already recommend," said Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer for the American Cancer Society.

Groups known to suffer disproportionately high rates of colon cancer include African-Americans, Alaska Natives, and American Indians.

"But as we saw data pointing to a persistent trend of increasing colorectal cancer incidence in younger adults, including American Cancer Society research that indicated this effect would carry forward with increasing age, we decided to reevaluate the age to initiate screening in all US adults."
She applauded the move toward earlier screening, saying it "will benefit the general public."
Another widely respected medical group which issues screening recommendations, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), decided not to recommended in 2016 that colon cancer screening start at 45, saying any additional benefit would be "modest."