French researchers said on Wednesday that screening for colorectal cancer should begin at 50 or 55 years old, and younger if people have a family history of the disease.

"In average risk populations, screening should start at age 50 or 55," Anne-Marie Benhamiche-Bouvier, of the Bourguignon Cancer Register in Dijon, said in a study in the Journal of Medical Screening.

She and her colleagues used data from cancer registries to estimate the lifetime risk of the general population developing the disease and the risk for people with one or more family members with the illness.

They concluded that one in every 23 men and one in 40 women will develop the disease at some time during their lives. But for people with two relatives who have suffered the cancer, the risk rises to 26 percent in men and 14 percent in women by the age of 74.

Colorectal cancer is the second most frequent cancer in the Western world. It occurs less frequently in Africa and Asia. The chances of developing the disease increase with age but if it is detected and treated early it can be curable.

A test that looks for traces of blood in the stool and an examination of the rectum and bowel through a tube called a colonoscopy are the most effective screening methods.

Screening for the disease is considered standard in the United States but it is less common in other countries.

"The risk is high enough to advise screening colonoscopy after age 40 for first degree relatives of patients with a colorectal cancer before the age of 45 or for those with at least two affected first degree relatives," the researchers added.

Colorectal cancer affects more than 3.5 million people worldwide each year. The main treatment is surgery to remove the cancerous area of the bowel and chemotherapy if the disease has spread.

(From ChinaDaily)