German study: Colonoscopy not used enough

MUNICH, Germany, July 2 (UPI) -- Only 20 percent of German adults age 55 and older use colonoscopy for detection of cancer, even though health insurance covers the cost, researchers said.

An analysis of the Bavarian Colonoscopy Database, published in Deutsches Arzteblatt International, showed that colonoscopy is an established, reliable and safe procedure for the early detection of colorectal cancer.

This method detects an intestinal lesion in every fourth patient, 1 percent of these lesions are due to a carcinoma. Advanced adenomas -- growths that are benign but can over time become malignant -- are often precursors of carcinoma and were found in 1 of 12 investigations.

The study authors evaluated 245,263 colonoscopies performed by the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in 2006.

In spite of the high rate of detection of intestinal cancer and the low risk for the patient, far too few patients exploited the chance of a check-up. Colonoscopies for the early detection of cancer are only performed annually on 2 percent of persons age 55 and older.