A new study has shown, for the first time, that removing polyps by colonoscopy prevents colon cancer deaths. The collaborative study, published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, was led by Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers.
“Our findings provide strong reassurance that there is a long-term benefit to removing these polyps and support continued recommendations of screening colonoscopy in people age 50 and older,” says the study’s lead author, Ann G. Zauber, a Memorial Sloan-Kettering biostatistician.
Previous research from these investigators showed that colorectal cancers were prevented by the removal of adenomatous polyps, but it was unknown whether the cancers prevented were potentially lethal. Therefore, this study assessed whether removal of adenomatous polyps reduced colorectal cancer mortality.
For the study, 2602 patients enrolled in the National Polyp Study (NPS) who had precancerous polyps removed during colonoscopy were evaluated for up to 23 years after having the procedure. Thus, this study provided the longest follow-up results to date. Compared with the number of deaths expected in the general population of comparable size, age, and gender, the removal of the polyps resulted in a 53% reduction in colorectal cancer mortality.
Furthermore, for up to 10 years after the colonoscopy, patients who had adenomatous polyps removed demonstrated a low death rate from colorectal cancer similar to that seen in a control group of patients with no polyps.
“The magnitude of reduction in mortality we observed is likely due to high-quality colonoscopy performed by well-trained, experienced gastroenterologists,” says the study’s senior author, Sidney J. Winawer, a gastroenterologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and principal investigator of the NPS.
Source: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
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