The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on Tuesday released updated guidance on screening adults for colon and rectal cancers, lowering the recommended age limit to begin such tests from 50 to 45. 

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on Tuesday updated their guidance for colorectal cancer screenings for adults

  • Doctors should now offer colorectal cancer screenings to patients starting at 45 years old, down from the previous recommended age of 50

  • Colorectal cancers are the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both men and women in the United States

  • The task force still suggests colorectal cancer screening in adults aged 50 to 75 years

Since 2016, screenings for colorectal cancers were recommended for people 50-75 years old. The USPSTF — an independent panel of U.S. medical experts — ordered a review of the recommendations, and published their findings in the JAMA Network journal on Tuesday. 

While the task force still suggests colorectal cancer screening in adults aged 50 to 75 years, the updated guidance also says doctors should offer colorectal cancer screenings to patients 45-49 years old. 

Screenings in adults aged 76 to 85 should be conducted on an individual, voluntary basis, and should conclude after the age of 86, the task force added. This guidance remains unchanged from the 2016 version from the task force. 

“The task force recommends that adults aged 45 to 75 be screened for colorectal cancer,” Dr. Michael Barry, vice chair of the task force, said in a podcast discussing the findings. “We think the screening should be selective for people aged 76-85 taking into consideration things like their overall health, their history of screenings, and of course their preferences.” 

“The real change is at the younger end of the age spectrum,” Dr. Barry later emphasized. “Our previous recommendation in 2016, recommended screenings start at age 50. We now recommend screenings start at age 45.” 

The new guidance applies to asymptomatic adults with no prior history of the disease, in part to spur early detection, which has been shown to decrease colorectal cancer mortality. 

According to the USPSTF, colorectal cancers are the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both men and women in the United States. A projected 52,980 people will die from the disease this year alone. 

Colorectal cancers are particularly common among Black adults, a group the USPSTF says has a “higher incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer than White adults.”

“The causes for these health disparities are complex; recent evidence points to inequities in the access to and utilization and quality of colorectal cancer screening and treatment as the primary driver for this health disparity rather than genetic differences,” the authors note. 

The USPSTF also notes that other organizations have issued differing guidelines on when to commence colorectal screenings, noting that in 2017, the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force recommended “beginning screening at age 45 years in Black adults, and screening at age 40 years (or 10 years before the age at diagnosis of a family member, whichever is earlier) in persons with a family history for colorectal cancer.”