Release Date: October 2008
| The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on Screening for
Colorectal Cancer was published on October 7, 2008, by the Annals
of Internal Medicine and the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality as an early online release. The print publication in Annals occurred on November 4, 2008. |
Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
Summary of Recommendations
- The USPSTF recommends screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) using fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy, in adults, beginning at age 50 years and continuing until age 75 years.
The risks and benefits of these screening methods vary.
Grade: A Recommendation.
- The USPSTF recommends against routine screening for colorectal cancer in adults age 76 to 85 years. There may be considerations that support colorectal cancer screening in an individual patient.
Grade: C Recommendation.
- The USPSTF recommends against screening for colorectal cancer in adults older than age 85 years.
Grade: D Recommendation.
- The USPSTF concludes that the evidence is insufficient to assess the benefits and harms of computed tomographic colonography and fecal DNA testing as screening modalities for colorectal cancer.
Grade: I Statement.
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Supporting Documents
Screening for Colorectal Cancer, October 2008
Recommendation Statement
(PDF File, 245 KB; PDF Help)
Clinical
Summary
(PDF FIle, 51 KB; PDF Help)
Supporting Article—Decision
Analysis (PDF File, 290 KB; PDF Help)
Supporting Article—Updated Systematic
Review (PDF File, 320 KB; PDF Help)
Evidence Synthesis, Part 1 (PDF File, 3 MB;
PDF Help)
Evidence Synthesis, Part 2 (PDF File, 790 KB;
PDF Help)
Research Supplement: CRC Screening Implications in Primary Care
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Persons with disabilities experiencing problems accessing portions of the PDF file for Evidence Syntheses should contact Marion Torchia at (301) 427-1399. The accessible version of the Evidence Synthesis, Part 2, will be available by April 30, 2009.
Current as of March 2009
Internet Citation:
Screening for Colorectal Cancer, Topic Page. March 2009. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspscolo.htm
540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850