Clinical Updates

Regular primary care visits linked to reduced colon cancer risk.

An analysis of data on more than 190,000 Medicare beneficiaries found that those who made five to 10 primary care visits from 1994 to 2005 were 6% less likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who had one visit or none. Regular primary care was associated with lower all-cause death rates, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. HealthDay News (9/30)

European study shows clear mortality benefit of CRC screening.

Randomized clinical trials show a clear link between high colorectal cancer screening rates and lower CRC mortality rates, researchers reported at a cancer meeting in Europe. The largest drops in CRC mortality were seen in countries where the greatest proportions of the population were screened, according to Philippe Autier, vice president of population studies at the International Prevention Research Institute.