When Are You Too Old to Get a Colonoscopy?

Can you be too old to get a colonoscopy? Perhaps, according to results from a cross-sectional conducted at Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, California. The study was published on April 2 in JAMA Network Open. The results indicated colonoscopies rarely detect colorectal cancer in older adults—even if they have a history of benign tumors called adenoma. Adenomas typically begin in the tissue covering organs and glands. These mushroom-shaped tumors can grow in the colon, and while they aren’t cancerous, health care professionals usually consider them to be precancerous. Adenomas are found in 4o percent of screening colonoscopies in the United States. If they are discovered during colonoscopies, physicians usually recommend removing them. After removal, current guidelines recommend that patients undergo future surveillance colonoscopies. However, guidelines do not provide much direction as to how long a person should undergo this surveillance....