3 ms·

Would screening improve the outcomes or just create more patients getting unnecessary treatment?

• greedo 1y ago
  Catching colorectal cancer at an early stage improves survival rates tremendously. You have to weigh the risk of complications from the colonoscopy (primarily bowel perforation) with the improved outcomes. There's a cost element as well, since colonoscopies (without complications) can be several thousand dollars.
  • naijaboiler 1y ago
    That's the calculations that go into screening guidelines. It's a lot of weighing now much benefit early detection provides vs how much harm testing and false positives do.
    • greedo 1y ago
      Guidelines do change however. When I first was diagnosed at age 41, my doctors were all pretty surprised due to my age. Not shocked, just surprised. Five years later, they were all pretty consistent in their views that the age guidelines should be lower, and that viewing colorectal cancer as something primarily limited to 50+ was outdated.
• deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
• ak217 1y ago
  Yes, colorectal cancer screening is estimated to reduce colorectal cancer mortality by 50% to 73%. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10093633/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10093633/ https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375 Progressive screening using non-invasive assays like Cologuard and FIT is a valuable screening mode. The non-invasive assays are not perfect but they are improving.
  • lostmsu 1y ago
    What about overall mortality?