TUESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- New guidelines have been issued for colorectal cancer screening, and a second-generation stool DNA test may be an effective alternative to fecal occult blood testing in the detection of colorectal cancer and potentially cancerous polyps, according to two reports published in October in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In one report, released online Oct. 6 in advance of publication in the Nov. 4 issue, Evelyn P. Whitlock, M.D., of the Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., and colleagues from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force conducted a systematic literature review to update the task force's 2002 guidelines. Among their recommendations: screenings should be conducted in patients from age 50 and until they are 75 and include an annual sensitive fecal occult blood test, a colonoscopy every 10 years, or a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years.

In a second study, published Oct. 7, David Ahlquist, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues compared the accuracy of two stool DNA tests against standard fecal occult blood testing in 4,482 average-risk adults. They found that the second-generation stool DNA test -- but not the first-generation one -- was twice as effective at detecting colorectal cancer and polyps as fecal occult blood testing.

"Considerations about colorectal cancer screening are affected by its rapidly evolving clinical science base, by the ongoing evolution of colorectal cancer screening technologies, and by a marketplace that continues to change," Whitlock and colleagues conclude. "Thus, frequent reconsideration of available evidence and updating of recommendations is warranted."

Several authors of the second study report potential conflicts of interest with a company that analyzes stool DNA tests.

Abstract - Whitlock
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Abstract - Ahlquist
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