stLouISTColonoscopy Study Causing Concerns
Colonoscopies have been considered the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening and prevention for decades. Now, however, a new study seems to call that belief into question, but health professionals argue the research can be easily misinterpreted. The study , published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed 85,000 participants over a ten-year period. Trial participants were either invited to undergo a single colonoscopy screening or to receive their usual physician care with no colonoscopy. Of those who were invited to have colonoscopies – whether they got one or not – there was an 18% reduction in developing the disease, and no significant reduction in the likelihood of colon cancer death. Dr. Omar Khokhar is an OSF HealthCare gastroenterologist in Bloomington, Illinois. He says there is a sticking point in this study, which can be easily overlooked: Less than half (42%) of the group invited to get a colonoscopy actually went through with the screening
