The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends both men and women at average risk for developing colorectal cancer beginning screening at age 50.
Recommended as one of several possible screening tests for the early detection of colorectal cancer, a take-home, multiple-sample fecal immunochemical test (FIT) should be used once a year to screen for colorectal cancer.1,2
Patients should talk to their physician about starting colorectal cancer screening earlier and/or being screened more often if they have any of the following colorectal cancer risk factors:
- Personal history of colorectal cancer or adenomatous polyps
- Personal history of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis)
- Strong family history of colorectal cancer or polyps (cancer or polyps in a first-degree relative [parent, sibling, or child] younger than 60 or in 2 or more first-degree relatives of any age)
- Known family history of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC)
- American Cancer Society. Colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines. Accessed February 4, 2008. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_3X_How_is_colorectal_cancer_found.asp
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Colorectal Cancer: Recommendations and Rationale. July 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD
