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Colorectal cancer task force updates colonoscopy surveillance guidelines
The US Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer recently issued updated guidelines for colonoscopy surveillance that include revised screening schedules, according to a press release.
The task force consists of members of the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. The guidelines, published in the September issue of Gastroenterology, reflect updates to those published in 2006.
Among several items, the Task Force recommended a schedule for colonoscopies according to the results of an initial exam: Exams revealing small hyperplastic rectal or sigmoid colon polyps, or no polyps, should be repeated after 10 years. Those revealing one or two small, low-risk tubular adenomas, should be repeated in 5 to 10 years; and those indicating high-risk, benign neoplastic polyps should be repeated in 3 years.
Other recommendations include the following:
- Colonoscopies for which the patient has not performed sufficient bowel preparation should be repeated within 1 year.
- Not enough evidence has been found to warrant modifying screening intervals for patients taking aspirin or NSAIDs.
- Stool monitoring such as fecal immunochemical tests or guaiac FOBTs are not necessary within 5 years of a colonoscopy.
- Repeat colonoscopies following the development of new symptoms are not likely to reveal significant pathology, but may be useful if the procedure can address a clinical question.
“The US Multisociety Task Force believes that the evidence supporting current recommendations for screening and surveillance intervals has become stronger in the past 6 years,” David A. Lieberman, MD, lead author, said in the release. “While these guidelines are dynamic and will continue to be revised in the future as new evidence emerges, we believe the guidelines represent the best science available for the screening, surveillance and prevention of colorectal cancer.”