Colonoscopy is essential to decrease mortality from cancer; Research
Researchers have found that colonoscopy help to save lives of patients of colon cancer.
This research has been done by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and published online in February 23 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
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Researchers worked on 2602 patients, who underwent colonoscopy between 1980 and 1990, and found that colonoscopy resulted in 53% decrease in risk of death from colon cancer. In colonoscopy, tiny growth in the intestine called as polyps were removed. Previous studies showed that removing the cautious polyps lead to decrease in cancer and this study is first of its kind to confirm that the chances of death are also decreased after removing the polyps.
In colonoscopy, a camera is inserted into the intestine to check for the cautious polyps. In case, there is no family history of colon cancer and first test is normal then further tests are done every 10 years. Other forms of colon cancer screening are stool tests and sigmoidoscopy, which is almost similar to colonoscopy but doesn’t involve detailed examination of the intestine.
This study confirms that the screening of colorectal cancer is very important. According to the American Cancer Society, increased screening and improved lifestyle resulted in decline of death rates as a result of cancer.
Researchers have concluded,
We previously reported a lower-than-expected incidence of colorectal cancer in patients after the removal of adenomatous polyps,5 and this study shows that polypectomy results in reduced mortality from colorectal cancer. These combined findings indicate that adenomas identified and removed at colonoscopy include those that are clinically important, with the potential to progress to cancer and cause death. A demonstrated reduction in mortality with colonoscopic polypectomy is a critical prerequisite for continued recommendations of screening colonoscopy in clinical practice while we wait for the results of randomized, controlled trials of screening colonoscopy.
This research has been funded by National Cancer Institute and other organizations.
Reference:
Ann G. Zauber, Ph.D., Sidney J. Winawer, M.D., Michael J. O’Brien, M.D., M.P.H., Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar, Ph.D., Marjolein van Ballegooijen, M.D., Ph.D., Benjamin F. Hankey, Sc.D., Weiji Shi, M.S., John H. Bond, M.D., Melvin Schapiro, M.D., Joel F. Panish, M.D., Edward T. Stewart, M.D., and Jerome D. Waye, M.D., (2012). Colonoscopic Polypectomy and Long-Term Prevention of Colorectal-Cancer Deaths. The New England Journal of Medicine, 366:687-696
