Colon Cancer Living with Colon Cancer

Cancer Survivors Urged to Get Yearly Colonoscopy

(iVillage Total Health) - If you have had colorectal cancer surgery, yearly colonoscopies to check for recurrence of polyps may be recommended to remain cancer-free, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle found that people who underwent one or more colonoscopies to look for additional polyps or cancers were more likely to be alive five years after surgery for colorectal cancer.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that in 2007 there will be more than 112,000 new cases of colon cancer and more than 41,000 cases of rectal cancer in the United States. Deaths from both cancers are estimated to reach 52,000 deaths in 2007. In recent years, the overall mortality rate has declined due in large part to screenings and early detection of precancerous polyps in the lower digestive system.

Washington researchers concluded that patients and their physicians should consider routine colonoscopies following surgery. People who did not have colonoscopies were about 45 percent less likely to reach the five-year survival mark. They said patients with more advanced cancers, abnormal cell growth or histories of polyps may also need more intensive surveillance through colonoscopies.

"The results of our study provide additional evidence that colorectal cancer survivors benefit from surveillance with colonoscopy, and it appears that the initial surveillance colonoscopy should be performed at one year after colon resection because of the significant risk of additional cancers and polyps in these patients," Dr. Stephen J. Rulyak, the lead author, said in a press release.

The study involved 1,002 men and women 60 years of age and older who had undergone colorectal cancer surgery. In the follow-up period, 652 patients had one or more colon examinations while 350 did not. A second colorectal cancer was found in 20 patients (3.1 percent of the participants), including nine cancers found within 18 months of the initial cancer diagnosis.

The study was published in the April issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

"The best prevention we have against colorectal cancer is screening. All individuals over the age of 50 or those with a family history of the disease should be screened for this deadly disease," Dr. Charles Mel Wilcox, editor-in-chief of the magazine. "This study provides further proof of the value of screenings and the lives that can be extended and saved."

Copyright 2007 iVillage Total Health.