Medicine
Last week was a busy one for cancer screening. I could choose to criticize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's premature guidelines to screen all baby boomers for hepatitis C (which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer) or the less-than-sound recommendations of several major cancer organizations to screen present or former heavy smokers between ages 55 and 74 for lung cancer with CT scans. (As I've pointed out before, there are at least 4 good reasons not to reflexively follow the latter advice.) But instead, I would like to explore the irony that another screening test that has conclusively been shown to result in more health benefits than harms is on the verge of becoming extinct in the U.S. That test is screening for colorectal cancer with flexible sigmoidoscopy.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is an uncomplicated office procedure that requires no anesthesia and was once commonly taught to, and performed by, thousands of family doctors and general internists in adults over the age of 50. But over the past decade, gastroenterologists have done a magnificent job convincing primary care physicians and the American public that colonoscopy is the "gold standard" for colorectal cancer screening. As a result, a recent national survey found that while 55 percent of respondents reported receiving a screening colonoscopy within the past 10 years, only 1.3 percent of respondents reported being screened recently with flexible sigmoidoscopy.
That's too bad, because not only does screening colonoscopy cost a lot more money, it hasn't ever been shown to be more effective than screening sigmoidoscopy. In fact, screening colonoscopy has never even been tested in a randomized trial, and may never be. In contrast, yesterday the lead researchers of the National Cancer Institute's Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (which previously found that prostate and ovarian cancer screening don't save lives) reported that having a flexible sigmoidoscopy every 3 to 5 years reduced deaths from colorectal cancer by 26 percent, even though nearly half of the control group underwent screening at least once. That's a big deal, since colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women, and the second-leading cause of cancer death in men under age 75.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. John Inadomi urges clinicians to reconsider flexible sigmoidoscopy as a preferred cancer screening strategy for three reasons: 1) it's more evidence-based than screening colonoscopy; 2) patients are more likely to be screened if multiple options are available; 3) screening resources are limited, and efficiency matters. He concludes:
Where does this leave us with regard to screening flexible sigmoidoscopy? First, it should be acknowledged that flexible sigmoidoscopy reduces colorectal-cancer incidence and mortality for the portion of the colon that it is designed to examine. Next, high-quality evidence must show the superiority of colonoscopy over other screening tests before we dismiss the use of flexible sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult-blood testing, both of which have randomized, controlled trials supporting their benefit. Especially critical are data that confirm the ability of colonoscopy to reduce mortality from proximal cancers. Finally, patient preferences for screening tests should be identified and respected — in this case, the best test is the one that gets done.
- End The War Metaphors For Cancer Screening And Treatment
Like millions of cycling fans all over the world, I was very disappointed about revelations that 7-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong had been using banned performance-enhancing substances for most of his career, despite...
- No Easy Victories In Cancer Screening And Prevention
Nearly forty years ago, President Richard Nixon famously declared a "War on Cancer" by signing the National Cancer Act of 1971. Like the Manhattan Project, the Apollo program that was then landing men on the Moon, and the ongoing (and eventually successful)...
- Excessive Use Of Screening Colonoscopy
According to guidelines from multiple expert groups, including those of the American College of Gastroenterology and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the appropriate interval between colonoscopies for colorectal cancer screening is 10 years. But...
- Why Screening For Colorectal Cancer Shouldn't Be A Hard Sell
Breast and prostate cancer screening tests may dominate headlines, but in terms of the quality of the scientific evidence that early detection saves lives, there are no better cancer screening tests than those for colorectal cancer, or cancer of the large...
- Information On Colorectal Cancer Screening
If you’re a man or woman over 50, chances are that you’ve been told about the importance of being checked for cancer of the prostate or breast. Finding some types of cancers at early stages (before they cause symptoms) may increase one’s chances...
Medicine
"The best [colorectal cancer screening] test is the one that gets done"
Last week was a busy one for cancer screening. I could choose to criticize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's premature guidelines to screen all baby boomers for hepatitis C (which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer) or the less-than-sound recommendations of several major cancer organizations to screen present or former heavy smokers between ages 55 and 74 for lung cancer with CT scans. (As I've pointed out before, there are at least 4 good reasons not to reflexively follow the latter advice.) But instead, I would like to explore the irony that another screening test that has conclusively been shown to result in more health benefits than harms is on the verge of becoming extinct in the U.S. That test is screening for colorectal cancer with flexible sigmoidoscopy.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is an uncomplicated office procedure that requires no anesthesia and was once commonly taught to, and performed by, thousands of family doctors and general internists in adults over the age of 50. But over the past decade, gastroenterologists have done a magnificent job convincing primary care physicians and the American public that colonoscopy is the "gold standard" for colorectal cancer screening. As a result, a recent national survey found that while 55 percent of respondents reported receiving a screening colonoscopy within the past 10 years, only 1.3 percent of respondents reported being screened recently with flexible sigmoidoscopy.
That's too bad, because not only does screening colonoscopy cost a lot more money, it hasn't ever been shown to be more effective than screening sigmoidoscopy. In fact, screening colonoscopy has never even been tested in a randomized trial, and may never be. In contrast, yesterday the lead researchers of the National Cancer Institute's Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (which previously found that prostate and ovarian cancer screening don't save lives) reported that having a flexible sigmoidoscopy every 3 to 5 years reduced deaths from colorectal cancer by 26 percent, even though nearly half of the control group underwent screening at least once. That's a big deal, since colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women, and the second-leading cause of cancer death in men under age 75.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. John Inadomi urges clinicians to reconsider flexible sigmoidoscopy as a preferred cancer screening strategy for three reasons: 1) it's more evidence-based than screening colonoscopy; 2) patients are more likely to be screened if multiple options are available; 3) screening resources are limited, and efficiency matters. He concludes:
Where does this leave us with regard to screening flexible sigmoidoscopy? First, it should be acknowledged that flexible sigmoidoscopy reduces colorectal-cancer incidence and mortality for the portion of the colon that it is designed to examine. Next, high-quality evidence must show the superiority of colonoscopy over other screening tests before we dismiss the use of flexible sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult-blood testing, both of which have randomized, controlled trials supporting their benefit. Especially critical are data that confirm the ability of colonoscopy to reduce mortality from proximal cancers. Finally, patient preferences for screening tests should be identified and respected — in this case, the best test is the one that gets done.
- End The War Metaphors For Cancer Screening And Treatment
Like millions of cycling fans all over the world, I was very disappointed about revelations that 7-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong had been using banned performance-enhancing substances for most of his career, despite...
- No Easy Victories In Cancer Screening And Prevention
Nearly forty years ago, President Richard Nixon famously declared a "War on Cancer" by signing the National Cancer Act of 1971. Like the Manhattan Project, the Apollo program that was then landing men on the Moon, and the ongoing (and eventually successful)...
- Excessive Use Of Screening Colonoscopy
According to guidelines from multiple expert groups, including those of the American College of Gastroenterology and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the appropriate interval between colonoscopies for colorectal cancer screening is 10 years. But...
- Why Screening For Colorectal Cancer Shouldn't Be A Hard Sell
Breast and prostate cancer screening tests may dominate headlines, but in terms of the quality of the scientific evidence that early detection saves lives, there are no better cancer screening tests than those for colorectal cancer, or cancer of the large...
- Information On Colorectal Cancer Screening
If you’re a man or woman over 50, chances are that you’ve been told about the importance of being checked for cancer of the prostate or breast. Finding some types of cancers at early stages (before they cause symptoms) may increase one’s chances...