Randy J. Yanda, MD and Lisa Kittner, RN, of Digestive Healthcare of Georgia, and three other investigators from the gastroenterology division at Indiana University College of Medicine recently published a paper titled “Neoplasia at Ten Year Follow-up Screening Colonoscopy in a Private US Practice: Comparison of Yield to First-time Examinations.” The aim of the study was to determine the risks of neoplastic lesions in patients at their initial screening colonoscopies. A neoplasm is an abnormal growth of tissue in the colon that may be either benign or malignant.
About the Study
The researchers reviewed a database of 2,105 outpatient screening colonoscopies done during a five-year period at the Digestive Healthcare of Georgia Endoscopy Center. The study looked at two groups of patients. One was returning for follow-up screening colonoscopies after having had normal initial screening colonoscopies at least eight years previously. Precancerous polyps were found in 27% of these patients. No interval colon cancers were found. The other group consisted of patients having their first screening colonoscopies. Precancerous polyps were found in 32% of these patients. No cancers were found. Despite being an average of ten years older, patients who were returning for their second colonoscopies had lower rates of precancerous neoplasms than the patients who were having their initial screening colonoscopies. No patients were found to have colon cancer at their ten year follow up colonoscopies. This study supports the safety of the recommended ten year interval between colonoscopies in average-risk persons who have normal initial colonoscopies.
About Colorectal Cancer
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reports that colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer for both men and women in the U.S. Understanding how this disease progresses after the initial diagnosis and treatment provides insight into if and how it might recur in at-risk patients.
Each year, colorectal cancer kills thousands of people. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2018 there will be over 50,000 deaths attributed to this form of cancer. The good news is those numbers are dropping. Studies like this one along with better patient education and enhanced screening methods are in part responsible for the decline.
The published study focuses on patients in just this one practice, so it hits close to home for both of these medical professionals who specialize in gastroenterology or the study of the digestive system and its disorders. If you would like to read the full article, you can download it here.
