TITLE:
Optimal Noninvasive Colon Cancer Screening Modality in Patients Not Receiving Colonoscopy
AUTHORS:
Akshay N. Narendra
KEYWORDS:
Colonoscopy, Sigmoidoscopy, Fecal Immunochemical Test, Fecal Occult Blood Test, CT Colonography
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.11 No.1,
January
27,
2022
ABSTRACT: Colon cancer is the third most common among cancer
deaths in the US for both men and women. The
incidence of colonoscopy has been soaring in younger patients, which led to
changes in recent United States Preventive Services Task
Force (USPSTF) guidelines to reduce the age for screening from 50 years to
45 years. Demand for colonoscopy services is surging due to increased
incidences of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the both aging and younger population. Increased referrals have led to an insufficient workforce
in hospitals and long waiting lists. Further, results from colonoscopy reveal a low
percentage of CRC or another severe bowel disease (SBD). Therefore, colon cancer screening is a growing concern, particularly in patients
who otherwise have a very long-life expectancy, and who are most likely to
benefit from screening. Another reason to boost CRC screening is to minimize
the load on hospitals by reducing the patients that undergo colonoscopy
unnecessarily because only a low percentage of CRC occurrence is observed in
individuals undergoing colonoscopy. In recent years, there are a variety of
screening options available for CRC. Noninvasive alternatives include fecal immunochemical test (FIT), multitarget stool DNA
testing (MT-sDNA, available under the brand name Cologuard), computed
tomography (CT) colonography (previously called virtual colonoscopy),
guaiac-based fecal occult blood testing (gFOBT), and capsule colonoscopy (CC). These
tests have varied the degree of evidence
supporting their use. This study focuses on the most recent survey and efficacy
of noninvasive methods to prevent and detect colorectal cancer (CRC).