ACS Now Recommends Colorectal Cancer Screening at Age 45

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its colorectal cancer (CRC) screening guidelines to lower the age at which individuals are recommended to begin screening due to increasing incidence in young and middle-aged populations, according to an ACS press release.

The updated recommendations, which were published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, advise that CRC screening should begin at age 45 for those at average risk.

The guideline change is based on CRC incidence rates, results from microsimulation modeling that demonstrate a favorable benefit-to-burden balance of screening at age 45, and the expectation that screening will perform similarly in adults aged 45 to 49 as it does for adults for whom screening is currently recommended (50 and older).

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