Regular colonoscopy advised for familial colorectal cancer
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
People with a family history of colorectal cancer should undergo a colonoscopy every three-five years from the age of 35, according to data from two of the first prospective US studies of the disease (NEJM 1994;331:1669-74). People who have a family member with colon cancer have a 1.7 times higher chance of developing the disease than do the rest of the population; if two or more family members have the disease, the risk is 2.75 times higher. Most at risk are people under 45 with at least one immediate relative with colorectal cancer - the risk for these people is five times higher than normal.