Study: People Free of Colorectal Cancer Have Lower Risk on Followup

Australian researchers report that people who have been screened by flexible sigmoidoscopy and found free of colorectal cancer are at significantly lower risk of having cancer or polyps five years later.

The study results, according to the researchers, raise the question of whether a longer recommended interval between screenings than five years for such low-risk individuals may improve the willingness of these individuals to have a followup screening.

The researchers from the University of Western Australia reported in the Medical Journal of Australia that when they rescreened 356 people aged 60 to 69 who had been found cancer-free five years earlier, they not only found no cancer, but the number found to have polyps was 50 percent less than in the initial screening.

In addition, precancerous polyps found on the rescreening "tended to be smaller than those found on first screening," the researchers reported.

"The rescreening interval is an important consideration in any population-based screening program," the researchers wrote. One problem with flexible sigmoidoscopy, they said, is the reluctance of many people to be rescreened.

"Our results suggest that rescreening average-risk people with flexible sigmoidoscopy at intervals longer than five years could be considered for evaluation," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Medical Journal of Australia