Study: Colonoscopies Discover Few Tumors in Patients Under 40

Researchers report that colonoscopies discover little neoplasia (formation of tumors) in patients under 40 year of age, but said "other significant disease may be missed if age is the only criterion determining colonoscopy use."

Dr. Hugh Mulcahy of St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin reported that in a study of 1,766 patients undergoing routine colonoscopies for rectal bleeding, researchers found that no patient under 40 had an isolated proximal cancer, but seven percent had other significant disease.

The researchers reported in the American Journal of Gastroenterology that patients under 40 had a higher percentage of normal screenings than patients over 40. The incidence of diverticular disease, small polyps, large polyps and cancer all rose with the age of the participants.

Other Sources: American Journal of Gastroenterology