According to the findings of a study done by researchers from Indiana University, five years after a colonoscopy which detected no precancerous growths or polyps, the risk of having a potential cancer is very low.
The results of the study were presented at the 71st Annual Scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). The study also found that the risk of advanced adenomas, a type of colon polyp more likely to become cancerous, while still low, was higher in men than in women. These findings suggest that a longer follow up screening may be safe.
Among the 2,436 patients in the screening program, 1,256 returned for screening after five years. No cancers were found in any of the patients. ACG recommends that for average risk individuals, colorectal cancer screening tests should begin at age fifty. For high risk individuals however, screening colonoscopy should begin earlier and be performed more frequently. For both average and high risk individuals, all potential pre-cancerous polyps must be removed.
