If you choose to continue colorectal cancer screening after you’ve turned 75, which test is best? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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People who are 75 and older and otherwise healthy reap benefits from continuing colorectal cancer screening, a new study found. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says that with new fecal screening tests, such a strategy makes even more sense.

Nelson: I think for the time being I think what is going to happen pretty quickly is that in this particular dataset they were not able to look back and make significant comments on the DNA containing stool tests. The Cologuard, that’s FDA approved, there’s other ones coming I think. And how often should you have that? Would that be a reasonable strategy to even more fine tune who gets colonoscopy who doesn’t when you get older. I think there’s going to be a lot more to be said about this and it’s going to be in the favor of there are people above the age of 75 who need to be screened.  :31

Nelson notes that this issue of age and cancer screening in general is actively being investigated by many, as is how best to treat older adults with cancer. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.