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Routine Colonoscopy Only Identifies Colon Cancer in 1% of Cases

Colonoscopy is routinely used to identify colon cancer in patients where the primary source of the cancer is unknown. However, scientists writing in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeuticsreveal that this expensive treatment is ineffective, identifying cancer in only 1% of patients.

The team assessed colonoscopies performed between 2000 and 2011 and found that only 1%, 2 of the 160 patients enrolled for colonoscopy, had a primary colon cancer identified, and both died within one month.

“The cost per colon cancer identified, based on current Medicare reimbursement rates, was approximately $85,000. In addition, adverse events that require additional interventions and prolonged hospitalizations in an already sick population may occur rarely,” said Professor L. Laine, from the Yale University School of Medicine. “One patient had a perforation that required surgery and resulted in the patient having a colostomy during her last months of life.”