American Cancer Society expands testing recommendations for colorectal cancer screening

Not up to date with your colorectal cancer screening? You’re not alone: about one in three eligible Americans haven’t been tested as recommended, says the American Cancer Society (ACS). That’s a key reason why the ACS just updated its colorectal cancer screening guidelines — which expand the menu of approved screening tools to include more accessible alternatives.

The new guidelines continue to recommend that adults at average risk begin screening at age 45 and continue at least through age 75, with colonoscopy still the gold-standard screening method. But the ACS is now adding guidance for blood-based and at-home stool screening tests for people who cannot or choose not to have a colonoscopy.

The changes come as rates of colorectal cancer continue to rise among younger adults. Regular screening is essential, as it can catch cancer at early stages when it’s most treatable — and even prevent precancerous growths from ever becoming cancerous.

Test options include the following:

Visual exams (colonoscopy, CT colonography, or flexible sigmoidoscopy), in which a doctor visually inspects the colon for cancer or precancerous polyps.

Stool-based tests, which involve collecting a small stool sample at home and mailing it to a lab for analysis. These include fecal immunochemical tests, fecal occult blood tests, and multitarget tests that check for blood and genetic markers from cancer cells.

Blood-based tests, in which a blood sample is analyzed for DNA fragments shed by cancer cells. These tests are less sensitive at detecting early cancers, so the ACS recommends them only for people who decline other options.

If a test other than colonoscopy detects an abnormality, you will likely need a follow-up colonoscopy.

This now-bigger arsenal of screening tests gives you more choices to weigh — but the most important choice is to get screened regularly. Your life may depend on it.

Image: © Halfpoint/Getty Images