"Reiterating a recommendation last made in  an influential U.S. panel of health experts is advocating that regular colon cancer screening begin at age  and continue until at least age . However the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stopped short of saying any one screening method was better than another. There are multiple screening options for colorectal cancer that reduce the risk of dying from the disease. We encourage people to choose the best option for them in consultation with their clinician former Task Force member Dr. Douglas Owens said Wednesday in a USPSTF news release. The panels reticence to choose one option over another may be at odds with the preference of many doctors who often advise colonoscopy as the gold standard test. Dr. Arun Swaminath is one of them. There is only one test  colonoscopy  that can both diagnose a polypcancer and remove or sample it at the same time said Swaminath who directs the inflammatory bowel disease program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. This is key because a positive stool test plus stool DNA test such as Cologuard or a positive imaging test such as CT colonoscopy will still require a follow up colonoscopy to confirm and treat the problem he explained. For its part the American Cancer Society recommends colonoscopy screening once every  years beginning at age  or one of a number of other tests at more frequent intervals. In drafting its updated colon cancer screening guidelines the USPSTF reviewed data on several screening strategies. Besides colonoscopy these included flexible sigmoidoscopy an invasive procedure that penetrates less far than colonoscopy CT colonography a scan of the colon traditional fecal occult blood tests looking for blood in stool and the recently approved Cologuard DNAbased stool test. The panel said there were no comparison studies that suggested that any of the screening methods were any more effective than others. There are varying amounts of proof supporting the effectiveness of each and each method has its advantages and limitations the panelists said. And what about colon cancer screening for the elderly In its statement the panel said that for some adults ages  to  the benefits of screening are smaller and the potential for harm greater. However some people in this age group may benefit especially if they have never been screened before and are healthy enough to undergo treatment if cancer is found. For this older group the USPSTF recommends that decisions on screening be made during consultations between the patient and his or her doctor. All of the recommendations are specific to symptomfree people  years of age or older with an average risk colorectal cancer the panel stressed. People with disorders or medical histories that raise their odds for colon cancer may need more rigorous screening the USPSTF said. The updated recommendation was published online June  in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Evidence convincingly shows screening for colorectal cancer works but not enough people are taking advantage of this highly effective service said Owens a general internist at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and a professor at Stanford University. The USPSTF notes that only onethird of eligible adults in the United States are screened for colon cancer and more need to take advantage of this effective method of prevention. Colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. This year about  people in the country will be diagnosed with the disease and about  will die from it. the panel said The USPSTF is an independent volunteer panel of experts that makes recommendations about the effectiveness of specific preventive health services. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on colon cancer screening http_infoscreeningindex.htm. SOURCES Arun Swaminath M.D. director inflammatory bowel disease program Lenox Hill Hospital New York City Journal of the American Medical Association and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force news releases June"