Colorectal cancer patient’s prognosis strongly depends on the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Thus early detection and treatment saves lives.
A new study published online in CANCER, from the journal of the American Cancer Society covers how frequently people should be screened. A team lead by Il Ju Choi, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Center in Korea studied 2,485 patients who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The researchers divided the patients into seven groups depending upon the time between having a screening endoscopy that detected the colorectal cancer and the endoscopy that preceded it. One to three years seems the optimal time while four and above years linked to more advanced stages of the disease.
Researchers concluded that three years was the ideal time between screenings.
The incidence of colorectal cancer has reduced in the West but the disease is still common in the East in countries such as Korea, Japan, and China. Recent research has confirmed that salt and pickle consumption is linked to the disease.