The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) recommends screening colonoscopy for patients with a first-degree relative who was older than 60 when diagnosed with adenomas but notes that the timing of initial colonoscopy hasn’t been established and should be individualized. The interval for follow-up colonoscopy in these patients should be the same as for average-risk patients. Patients with a second- or third-degree relative with colonic neoplasia should adhere to average-risk screening recommendations.6 Otherwise, the ASGE recommendations agree with the ones described previously.
The most recent joint guidelines of the US Multisociety Task Force (USMSTF) on Colorectal Cancer, the American College of Radiology, and the ACS, released in 2008, make no recommendations regarding patients with a family history.7 The USMSTF defers to guidelines from the ACS and the AGA described earlier.
Acknowledgements
The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and not to be construed as official, or as reflecting the views of the US Air Force Medical Service or the US Air Force at large.