A landmark study suggests the benefits of colonoscopies
for cancer screening may be overestimated.
The study found that colonoscopies only reduce the risk of
dying of colorectal cancer by as much as 50%. That only applies to people who
actually get the scan.
The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine
looked at 84,000 European patients.
Those who agreed to undergo colonoscopy reduced their risk
by 31% compared to those who were not screened.
Other experts say that as good as this study was, it has
important limitations and these results shouldn't deter people from getting
colonoscopies.