If we did this, then we would be no better than they. The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and do not reflect the official position of the TSGE or the national GI societies. Sigmoidoscopy is a common procedure done in the doctor's office, and is used for patients who are not particularly at risk for colon and rectal cancer. Colonoscopy is a bit more complicated, requiring sedation, and is widely used for higher-risk patients, such as those with a family history of the disease, blood in stool, or previous growths in their colon. Colon and rectal cancer killed about 56,000 people in the United States last year.
Colorectal cancer is second only to lung cancer in causing cancer deaths.
About 130,000 cases were diagnosed last year. In the largest study ever of colonoscopy, researchers examined 3,121 men ages 50 to 75 with no symptoms of colon or rectal cancer at 13 U.S. veterans hospitals. At least 52 percent with cancer or advanced precancerous polyps in the upper colon had no precancerous polyps in the lower colon or rectum. Altogether, between 20 percent to 32 percent of men with advanced growths would thus be overlooked by sigmoidoscopy alone. In an accompanying NEJM editorial, Dr. Daniel Podolsky of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said colonoscopy could, at least in theory, eradicate the vast majority of colorectal cancer.