Colonosocopy benefit for very old may be limited

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Two new studies give useful guidance of the role of colonoscopy in preventing colon cancer.
Colonoscopy saves lives by detecting pre-cancerous polyps early and giving an opportunity for their removal. That's why colonoscopy screening is recommended for all after 50. What is less clear is when screening should stop and how often it should be done. Two new studies shed light on these important questions.

A team at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, now reveals that for those over 80, there is significantly less benefit in colonosocopy in terms of increased life expectancy than for those in the younger age groups - even though the incidence of advanced colon cancer goes up with age. They looked at screening data for 1,244 individuals in three age groups - 50-54, 70-79 and over 80. The benefit in terms of life expectancy was only 15 per cent that in younger patients. The study takes account of average life expectancy in the different age groups. Colonoscopy is not without the potential for complications and the risk of these may be higher among older people. The findings don't mean colonoscopy should be abandoned at 80 - just that doctors and patients need to consider the risks and benefits of the procedure as a factor of age.

Meanwhile, in the second study, a team at the University of Manitoba, Canada, shows that for those having a negative colonoscopy, the reduced risk of colon cancer persists for ten years. This means that there is probably no benefit in having more frequent screening.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association May 24/31 Volume 295 pages 2357 and 2366