Science / Medicine : Colon-Rectal Cancer Screening Debated

Researchers disagree about whether the general public should be routinely screened for colon-rectal cancer, the second most common kind of cancer in the United States.

Deaths from such cancer could be greatly reduced, given the kinds of diagnostic tools available, said a study from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

The group recommended that stool tests be made to detect the presence of blood and that examinations with sigmoidoscopes, which probe the colon, be made for most people starting at age 50.

The report was published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Assn., along with two other studies that disagree with the recommendation.

Researchers led by Dr. Kevin Knight of the School of Public Health at UCLA said current evidence does not support a recommendation that the general population be screened. Among other things, they said, there is a risk of misleading results from stool sample tests.

A study from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland added that no good study exists to justify the use of sigmoidoscopy for screening persons who have no symptoms or who are not considered at risk.