from U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
In case you missed it, a new recommendation lowering the age of screening for colorectal cancer has been issued by the United States Preventive Services Task Force. Previously, people between fifty and seventy-five were urged to be tested. The new lower age for screening is forty-five and the new higher age recommended is eighty-five. Reasons for the new recommendations include statistics that one-quarter of eligible adult have never been tested and nearly one-third were not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening. These numbers are significant since colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in this country. The recommendations were published in JAMA Networks.