New guidelines say colon cancer screening should be earlier at 45

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new guidelines on Tuesday urging Americans to start getting screened for colorectal cancer at an earlier age.
• The recommended age of screenings is lowered to 45 from 50 due to a rise in colon cancer cases among the younger population.
• Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the US.

Americans are urged to start getting screened for colorectal cancer at an earlier age. The new guidelines released Tuesday by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend that people age 45 should not wait until they’re 50 to get screened.

The change was made due to an increase in colorectal cancer cases appearing in younger adults.

Colorectal cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the United States, killing about 50,000 patients a year. The leading killer is lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Cases and deaths have decreased in recent years due to screening tests that can help in detecting tumors early. Colorectal cancer can also be prevented by removing precancerous growths.

Previously, the recommended age for people to get screened is from 50 to 75 as colorectal cancer is most common in older adults. However, since the early 2000s, the rate of new cases before age 50 has been rising. So the new guideline for adults with average risk is from ages 45 to 75.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the recommendation means most health insurance plans should cover the screenings with no copay.

In 2018, the American Cancer Society lowered the recommended colorectal screening age to 45.

The new guideline shows “45 is the new 50 for this important cancer prevention screening intervention,” Dr. Kimmie Ng of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, who wasn’t part of the task force deliberations, wrote in JAMA.

The new guidelines apply only to those who are at average risk of colorectal cancer. That means they have not been diagnosed with colorectal cancer; no family history of the disease or genetic disorders that increase the risk of the disease; no history of precancerous polyps; and no diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease, according to an NBC News report.

Source: AP News