Colonoscopy Effectiveness , Is Questioned , in New Study.
The study has been described as
"landmark," and was published in
'The New England Journal of Medicine' on Oct. 9.
Authors of the study report on a randomized trial that compared colonoscopies to no cancer screenings.
According to the study, participants who received the procedure were only 18 percent less likely to get colorectal cancer. .
Medical professionals who have pushed colonoscopies for years described the results of the study as "disappointing.".
So I think we have to embrace [the results]. And we may have oversold the message [on colonoscopies] for the last 10 years or so, and we have to
wind it back a little, Dr. William Dahut, CSO of the American Cancer Society, via CNN.
Other medical professionals who have embraced the effectiveness of colonoscopies expressed skepticism about the study's result.
This is because many of the participants who were invited to receive a coloscopy did not receive one.
I think it’s just hard to know the value of a screening test when the majority of people in the screening didn’t get it done, Dr. William Dahut, CSO of the American Cancer Society, via CNN.
For those who did receive a colonoscopy, the risk of a colorectal cancer diagnosis was reduced by 31 percent.
In addition, the risk of dying from the disease was reduced by half.
While those are promising results, some medical professionals say that they are “on the low end of” expectations for the effectiveness of the procedure.
I don’t think anyone should be canceling their colonoscopy. We know that colon cancer screening works, Dr. Jason Dominitz, Veterans Health Administration, via CNN.
Some doctors explain that even alternative screening procedures will often lead a person to a colonoscopy.
This can lead to polyp removal which can prevent an "individual from getting colon cancer in the first place."