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UT Southwestern Medical Center offers colon cancer screening to detect colon polyps or colon cancer. We also offer clinical expertise in other conditions in this area, including familial adenomatous polyposis and familial or hereditary colon cancer syndromes.
A major goal of our colon cancer screening program is to prevent cancer by enabling patients to have pre-cancerous colon polyps removed well before the cancer has grown or become symptomatic. The program also detects colon cancer in its early stages, while it is highly curable.
Screening Options
The comprehensive colon cancer screening program at UT Southwestern includes colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, contrast barium enema and fecal occult blood tests.
Although colonoscopy is generally recommended as the most effective screening test, UT Southwestern also offers computerized tomographic (CT) colonography - or virtual colonoscopy - as an alternative to the traditional colonoscopy procedure. This new examination uses a CT scanner to take images of the colon. It is non-invasive, but does require a complete bowel preparation. If abnormalities such as polyps are detected by CT colonography (usually about one in 10 patients), a colonoscopy is then recommended.
Screening Recommendations
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force released its colon cancer screening recommendations earlier this year. The full report is located on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Web site.
Starting at age 50, individuals who have no family history of colon cancer or polyps should choose one of the following options for colorectal cancer screening after consultation with a physician:
1.) A colonoscopy every 10 years;
2.) A flexible sigmoidoscopy or a contrast barium enema every five years; or
3.) A fecal occult blood test every year.
Individuals with a family history of colon cancer should have screening early, with the age and frequency based on consultation with an experienced physician and/or genetic counselor.
Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease, previous polyps or colon cancer (or who have a family history that includes colon cancer or polyps) are at increased risk for developing colon cancer and should have a colonoscopy, and this should be performed. Consultation with an experienced physician is essential.
Although a digital rectal examination is often performed by a doctor during a routine physical examination, the American Cancer Society (ACS) states that the test is not recommended as a stand-alone test for colon cancer. According to the ACS, research shows that the digital rectal examination misses more than 90 percent of abnormalities of the colon, including cancer.
