Colorectal cancer is the 2nd or 3rd most common cancer in the Western world.
It is potentially preventable, which makes it a target for screening and prevention.
Tests recommended:
• High-sensitivity fecal occult blood test (FOBT), which checks for hidden blood in three consecutive stool samples; should be done every year.
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy, where physicians use a flexible, lighted tube (sigmoidoscope) to look at the interior walls of the rectum and part of the colon; should be done every five years with FOBT every three years.
• Colonoscopy, where physicians use a flexible, lighted tube (colonoscope) to look at the interior walls of the rectum and the entire colon; should be done every 10 years. During this procedure, samples of tissue may be collected for closer examination, or polyps may be removed. Colonoscopies can be used as screening tests or as follow-up diagnostic tools when the results of another screening test are positive.
Other Screening Tests in Use or Being Studied:• Cat Scan colonography
• Stool DNA Test