SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A European study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine has been raising questions about the effectiveness of colonoscopies in preventing colon cancer.
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The procedure is recommended in the United States for most people starting at the age of 45. Is it possible that this new research could warrant a change in those recommendations?
The study, published in early October, involved 80,000 patients, making it the largest study ever on colonoscopies. The research suggested that the medical procedure does decrease the risk of developing colon cancer, however, it does not significantly reduce the number of deaths from the disease.
Dr. Alan Venook, Professor of Medicine at UCSF and Associate Director at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, told KCBS Radio's Melissa Culross on "As Prescribed" this conclusion may have been impacted by outside factors, including that more than half of the patients who were invited to get a colonoscopy never showed up for the procedure.
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