Colorectal cancer: US guidelines urge screening from age 45 as incidence soars in younger adults
BMJ 2018; 361 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2452 (Published 01 June 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;361:k2452- Owen Dyer
- Montreal
New guidelines from the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommend lowering the starting age for routine colorectal cancer screening by five years to age 45, driven by a relentless climb in incidence among younger adults in recent decades even as the disease has become rarer overall.1
Colorectal cancer was falling in all age groups until the mid-1980s, when it began to climb in young patients while continuing to fall in those over 55. Colorectal cancers have increased by 51% since 1994 among adults under 50, the society said. And this rise in risk is most striking in the youngest adults.
In adults …
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