Women who started endoscopic screenings at age 45 had a 50 percent to 60 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to those who didn't screen at all, according to research published May 5 in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital studied 111,801 women ages 26 to 46 from August 2020 to June 2021.
Two more notes:
1. Screening at ages 45 to 49 resulted in a reduction in the population’s actual cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed through age 60, compared to women who began screening from ages 50 to 54.
Initiation of endoscopy before 50 years of age was also associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer diagnosis before 55 years.