Good News: Colon Cancer Incidence Rates In Older Americans Have Plummeted
Monday, March 17, 2014 - 01:20
in Health & Medicine
Colon cancer incidence rates have dropped sharply - 30 percent in the U.S. in the last 10 years, among adults 50 and older. The drop has been attributed to the widespread uptake of colonoscopy, with the largest decrease in people over age 65. Colonoscopy use has almost tripled among adults ages 50 to 75, from 19 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2010. The findings come from Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2014, and are published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The article and its companion report, Colorectal Cancer Facts&Figures, were released today by American Cancer Society researchers as part of a new initiative by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable to increase screening rates to 80 percent by 2018. read more