Colorectal Screening Guidelines Importance
Screening can prevent colorectal cancer by early detecting cancerous growths so here you have some of the colorectal screening guidelines that could help you better understand the importance of these tests. This article intends to provide you valuable information on what and when one should do in order to prevent colorectal cancer.
Screening for colorectal cancer is usually recommended to individuals who are older than 50 years. The tests available for colorectal cancer screening are the fecal occult blood test also called FOBT, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, the double contrast barium enema and the digital rectal exam. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends having a fecal occult blood test every year, a sigmoidoscopy every five years and a colonoscopy once in ten years.
The fecal occult blood test is used to check if there is blood in stool. There are two types of FOBT, one which is called guaiac FOBT and which uses chemical guaiac to detect heme in fecal material and another one that is called immunochemical FOBT and in which are used antibodies to find human hemoglobin in stool. Several studies showed that performing this type of exam once in a year may reduce the number of colorectal cancer-related deaths by 15%.
Colorectal cancer screening can also be done with the help of sigmoidoscopies. A sigmoidoscopy consists in the examination of the rectum and the lower part of the colon with a medical instrument called sigmoidoscope. The doctor can detect precancerous and cancerous growths in both rectum and lower colon which can be removed or biopsied.
Colonoscopies are test used in both screening for colorectal cancer and diagnosing test or follow-up test. This test consists in the examination of the rectum and colon with a colonoscope, a lighted medical instrument. The test can help in detecting precancerous or cancerous growths in the entire colon and rectum and which can be either removed or biopsied.
A computerized tomographic colonography is another test that can be used in early detection of colon cancer. This is a test that uses special x-ray equipment to take pictures of the colon and rectum. The images are assembled by a computer and when analyzed, polyps and other abnormalities show up. It is usually more comfortable for the patient and it also takes less time to be performed when comparing to a regular colonoscopy.
The double contrast barium enema or the DCBE is a test that consists in taking a series of x-rays of the colon and rectum after enema and a barium solution were introduced into the colon. It is however proven to be an invasive procedure that may miss the existence of small polyps.
The digital rectal exam or simply DRE is a test that can be used for examining the lower part of the rectum. It is often performed as a routine test during a physical examination and it mainly consists in introducing a lubricated gloved finger into the rectum.
Hopefully the colorectal screening guidelines helped you better understand why screening is so important, especially for those considered at risk to developing this type of cancer.