New Colorectal Cancer screening guidelines

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]There is a big shift in screening guidelines for colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society says the goal is to improve screening rates. Bradley Blackburn has more.

[00:00:11]The American Cancer Society is updating guidelines for colorectal cancer screening. The best test is the one that gets done, and now we're very excited to see that there's so many more testing options available than even 5 or 10 years ago. Average risk adults should continue to start colon cancer screening at age 45, and while the colonoscopy remains the gold standard for screening, for the first time the new guidance recommends at-home testing and in-office laboratory blood tests as potential alternatives. Dr. Celine Gounder is a CBS News medical correspondent.

[00:00:43]Colonoscopy is your best option. Next best would be an at-home stool test, and third best for patients who refuse both would be a blood test. The colonoscopies are the most sensitive, are going to pick up the most. The blood tests are the least sensitive, so they may not pick up some of the precancerous lesions. Colonoscopies are typically recommended every 10 years. Stool tests and blood tests every 3 years.

[00:01:06]Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people younger than 50 years old with a 3% increase in the death rate from 2018 to 2022. It's estimated about one in three people in the US who should get tested for colorectal cancer have never been screened. We know that a stage one colon cancer can typically be cut out, avoid chemotherapy and radiation versus finding it later. And what these screening tests aim to do is to do exactly that, find it very early when it's easily treatable and cure rates are greater than 95, close to 100%. The Cancer Society hopes this critical shift in expanding screening options will lower barriers to access and save more lives. Bradley Blackburn, CBS News, New York. New York time.