Women see no benefit from colorectal cancer screening, study finds

A single screening test using flexible sigmoidoscopy reduced colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in men but had little or no effect in women, a large randomised controlled trial in Norway has shown.1

The study authors say that the findings may have implications for screening programmes such as those in Italy, Norway, and the UK. In England, bowel scope screening using flexible sigmoidoscopy is currently being rolled out to everyone aged 55, as a one-off test.

Previous analyses of four randomised trials have indicated that sigmoidoscopy screening …