From Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines to Headlines: Beware!
Authors: Sudha Xirasagar, Piet C. de Groen
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters21 May 2019From Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines to Headlines: Beware!Sudha Xirasagar, MBBS, PhD and Piet C. de Groen, MDSudha Xirasagar, MBBS, PhDUniversity of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina (S.X.)Search for more papers by this author and Piet C. de Groen, MDUniversity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (P.C.D.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L19-0085 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Bretthauer and colleagues (1) present well-substantiated concerns about the evidence cited to support the American Cancer Society's (ACS) recommendation that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening begin at age 45 years (2). Prominent among their concerns is the tiny increase in CRC incidence (about 2 per 100 000 person-years) from 2000 to 2013 among adults aged 20 to 49 years in contrast to the shocking percentage increase of 22%. The authors emphasize that the potential harms of these additional screenings outweigh a miniscule and uncertain benefit of screening all Americans aged 45 to 49 years. The authors did not discuss ...References1. Bretthauer M, Kalager M, Weinberg DS. From colorectal cancer screening guidelines to headlines: beware! Ann Intern Med. 2018;169:405-6. [PMID: 29987330]. doi:10.7326/M18-1720 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Wolf AMD, Fontham ETH, Church TR, Flowers CR, Guerra CE, LaMonte SJ, et al. Colorectal cancer screening for average-risk adults: 2018 guideline update from the American Cancer Society. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68:250-81. [PMID: 29846947] doi:10.3322/caac.21457 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Vijan S, Inadomi J, Hayward RA, Hofer TP, Fendrick AM. Projections of demand and capacity for colonoscopy related to increasing rates of colorectal cancer screening in the United States. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2004;20:507-15. [PMID: 15339322] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Joseph DA, Meester RG, Zauber AG, Manninen DL, Winges L, Dong FB, et al. Colorectal cancer screening: Estimated future colonoscopy need and current volume and capacity. Cancer. 2016;122:2479-86. [PMID: 27200481] doi:10.1002/cncr.30070 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Duloy AM, Kaltenbach TR, Keswani RN. Assessing colon polypectomy competency and its association with established quality metrics. Gastrointest Endosc. 2018;87:635-44. [PMID: 28882577] doi:10.1016/j.gie.2017.08.032 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina (S.X.)University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (P.C.D.)Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L19-0085. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoFrom Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines to Headlines: Beware! Michael Bretthauer , Mette Kalager , and David S. Weinberg From Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines to Headlines: Beware! Michael Bretthauer , Mette Kalager , and David S. Weinberg Metrics 21 May 2019Volume 170, Issue 10Page: 733-734KeywordsAcute coronary syndromeAdenomasCancer screeningColonoscopyColorectal cancerColorectal cancer screeningDisclosureEndoscopyGastroenterology and hepatologyScreening guidelines ePublished: 21 May 2019 Issue Published: 21 May 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...