US recommends screening for colon cancer

doi:10.1136/bmj.314.7078.393h

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Fred B Charatan

Florida

The American Gastroenterological Association has recommended that everyone over 50 should have an annual faecal blood test to detect colorectal cancer as early as possible. Faecal blood tests can be bought at pharmacies in the United States without a prescription for $5 (£3.50), and these are then sent off to a designated laboratory for analysis.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 133 500 people in the United States developed new cases of colorectal cancer in 1996, with 94% of all …