M. D. Anderson redefines screening guidelines for breast, cervical and colorect...(test and if both are negative a woman ma...),Health

M. D. Anderson recommends a colonoscopy every 10 years (preferred screening), a virtual colonoscopy every five years, or a yearly Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) for men and women aged 50 years and older who are at average risk. For men and women at increased or high risk, the type and frequency of exams - including colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy - depend on the following factors:

• personal history of precancerous (adenomatous) polyps;
• personal history of colorectal cancer;
• family history of colorectal cancer or precancerous (adenomatous) polyps;
• genetic diagnosis of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis;
• genetic history of Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer or a clinical history suggesting such;
• or inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease).

"Because of the research being conducted in laboratories and clinics at M. D. Anderson and around the world, our understanding of how cancer develops and spreads is steadily increasing," said Ernest T. Hawk, M.D., M.P.H., vice president for Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences.

More knowledge about how doctors make decisions about risk levels and screening tests will give patients a deeper understanding of the disease process and enable them to put their own cancer risk in perspective, he added.

"For colorectal cancer screenings, patients need to be proactive about obtaining results from their screening tests. For example, if a colonoscopy reveals polyps, it is critical for the patient to know what kind, how many and what size, since this information factors heavily into what risk category they fall into for colorectal cancer," Bevers said.

The risk categories and related guidelines wer
'/>"/>