Study shows flexible sigmoidoscopy effective for colon cancer screening

A team of researchers led by doctors in Norway has found that screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy, one of the colon screening tests recommended by the American Cancer Society, reduced the rates of colon cancer diagnoses and deaths compared to no screening. The researchers randomly assigned about 100,000 people in Norway between ages 50 and 64 to receive either a flexible sigmoidoscopy alone, a flexible sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), or no screening. During the time of the study, Norway did not have a national colon cancer screening program and people there generally did not receive screening. Read more here.