What are the options available for CRC screening?
Current medical guidelines can often lag several years behind medical research. As of July 2007, there are four officially recommended methods for CRC screening: • Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) • Flexible Sigmoidoscopy (Flex Sig) • Double-contrast barium enema: (DCBE) • Traditional (optical) Colonoscopy (OC) While all four of these tests are “recommended” by the major medical guidelines, only traditional colonoscopy is highly sensitive for detecting polyps and cancers (approximately 90% sensitive). The other recommended tests are significantly less sensitive (50-70% sensitive–meaning it might miss as many as half of the polyps and cancers that might be present in the colon). Therefore most physicians currently recommend traditional colonoscopy for screening.
