(Rob Stein/ NPR) — Routine screening for colorectal cancer should begin at age 45 instead of 50, an influential panel is recommending.
Starting routine screening five years earlier could prevent more deaths from colorectal cancer, which is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded.
“Far too many people in the U.S. are not receiving this lifesaving preventive service,” Dr. Michael Barry, the task force’s vice chairperson, said in a statement. “We hope that this new recommendation to screen people ages 45 to 49, coupled with our long-standing recommendation to screen people 50 to 75, will prevent more people from dying from colorectal cancer.” (…)