VIDEO: The best screening test for colorectal cancer is ‘the one that gets done’
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In this Healio video exclusive, Sudha Pandit, MD, reports that the survival rate for colorectal cancer “is over 91%” if caught early, an important reminder during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
“In the United States, the lifetime risk for getting colorectal cancer for men is one in 23 and for woman it is one in 25,” Pandit, assistant professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology and program director of fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, said in the latest installment of Healio’s diversity, equity and inclusion video series with the ASGE. “Among the different races and ethnicities, African American, American Indian and Alaska Native individuals have the highest risk for getting colorectal cancer and the highest rate of death. The risk for getting colorectal cancer among young individuals, especially 40 to 50, has increased in the last 3 decades.”
According to Pandit, CRC is the third most common preventable cancer and, if caught early, the survival rate “is over 91%.” Current guidelines recommend that individuals at average risk for CRC begin screening at age 45 years, while those at a high risk — with a family history of CRC or high-risk polyps — should be screened at age 40 years or 10 years younger than the age at their family member’s diagnosis.
“The best test for colorectal cancer screening is the one that gets done,” Pandit said. “Let’s make ourselves aware about the rising risk of colorectal cancer, especially among young individuals, and talk to a health care provider about screening for colorectal cancer today.”
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