On Nov. 23, 2020, The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) submitted a comment letter to the United States Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF) in response to their draft recommendation on screening for colorectal cancer released on Oct. 27, 2020. The letter was developed by the ACR Colon Cancer Committee led by Judy Yee, MD, FACR. The letter emphasizes the following topics:
- Increased Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Using Computed Tomography Colonography (CTC).
- Reduced Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Screening.
- Benefits of Early Detection and Treatment.
- Implementation.
- Stool-Based Tests Versus Direct Visualization Tests.
- Extracolonic Findings at CTC.
The ACR strongly supports the proposed USPSTF recommendation of a Grade A for colorectal cancer screening in adults ages 50 to 75 years and a Grade B for colorectal cancer screening in adults ages 45 to 49 years. Additionally, providing patients a variety of effective screening tools for colorectal cancer, including CTC, encourages early detection in the fight against this deadly disease and helps save lives as well as closing the gap in colorectal screening rates between whites and minority populations.
The ACR feels strongly that current evidence on the risks and benefits of CTC continue to show that CTC is proven to be an effective tool for screening of asymptomatic patients for colorectal cancer and should be a recommended screening test in all adults age 45 years and older. Significant peer-reviewed evidence on the efficacy of CTC has been and continues to be published regularly.
We also support clarification of the importance of completing screening with colonoscopy after a clinically significant abnormal non-colonoscopic screening test, such as after a CTC, which will allow the U.S. population to achieve the full benefits of their colorectal cancer screening recommendations.
For questions, please contact Kathryn Keysor or Alicia Blakey.
For more colorectal cancer screening information, check out the ACR Colon Cancer Screening Resources.