Study: Colorectal Cancer Less Likely When Colonoscopy Performed by Gastroenterologist

After a negative complete colonoscopy, patients who have their colonoscopy performed at a hospital by a non-gastroenterologist may be at higher risk of developing subsequent colorectal cancer than those whose procedure is performed by a gastroenterologist, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the journal of the American Gastroenterological Institute.

The study followed 110,402 residents of Ontario, Canada, between 50 and 80 years old, who had a negative complete colonoscopy between 1992 and 1998. Individuals were followed through Dec. 2006, and those with a new diagnosis of colorectal cancer were identified, according to a press release on the study.

Of the 1,596 who subsequently developed colorectal cancer, among those who had their colonoscopies at a hospital, those who had the procedure performed by a non-gastroenterologist were at significantly higher risk for developing colorectal cancer. This finding suggests the formal training gastroenterologists receive adds to their proficiency, especially when procedures are more challenging, according to the press release.

Read the press release on the Clinical Gastrenterology and Hepatology study on colonoscopy.

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