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Monday, March 17, 2014

Study: Colon cancer incidence, death rates down among Americans 50 and older.

The Wall Street Journal (3/17, Beck, Subscription Publication) reports that research suggests that colon cancer incidence among individuals in the US aged 50 and older has declined 30% of the past decade, with the decline being driven by an increase in colonoscopies.

        USA Today (3/17, Szabo) reports that additionally, “death rates from colon cancer...have fallen, declining at a rate of about 3% a year over the past decade, the report found.” The largest “declines in colon cancer incidence were in people over age 65, who qualify for Medicare, which makes colon cancer screenings available for free.” The study also indicated that “declines in colon cancer rates became more dramatic in more recent years, falling at an annual rate of 7.2% a year from 2008 to 2010.”

        The National Journal (3/17, Subscription Publication) reports that the findings were published in...CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Investigators “evaluated data from the CDC and the National Cancer Institute in preparing the report.” The Journal points out that “the data comes as the Health and Human Services Department and National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable – an organization founded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society – make a new nationwide push to increase screening rates to 80 percent by 2018.”

        Modern Healthcare (3/17, Rice, Subscription Publication) reports, however, that “screening rates remain low among the poor and uninsured, the report said, and there were substantial racial and ethnic differences in both incidence and death rates.” The CNN (3/17) “The Chart” blog and MedPage Today (3/17, Bankhead) also cover the story.

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