Robert Schoen and colleagues have conducted a study in which, after a median follow-up of 12 years, they have shown that flexible sigmoidoscopy screening decreases the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) by 21% and mortality by nearly 26%. The study included 77,445 participants who were randomly assigned to screening with sigmoidoscopy (intervention group) or usual care. The incidence of both distal and proximal CRC was significantly reduced in the intervention group. However, although mortality from distal CRC was significantly reduced, mortality from proximal CRC did not change.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Schoen, R. E. et al. Colorectal-cancer incidence and mortality with screening flexible sigmoidoscopy. N. Engl. J. Med. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1114635
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Confirming the benefits of screening in colorectal cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 9, 429 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.115
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.115