New guidelines for colorectal cancer screening issued

The American College of Physicians just released new guidelines for colorectal cancer screening, and now recommends that physicians screen all adults ages 50-75 with an average risk for signs of the disease. The updated guidelines — which were developed in consultation with the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and others — encourage physicians to discuss with patients the benefits, harms, and associated costs of three screening methods before pursuing any procedure. Previously, the organization gave doctors the option to choose from one of four screening methods. The old guidelines, issued in 2015, also suggested different time frames for how often a specific procedure needed to be repeated: For example, doctors were previously encouraged to perform one of two blood tests every year, but the new screening guide moves this to every two years.