--- title: Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half description: They’re no fun to get, but colonoscopies save lives. 7139196 canonical: https://time.com/archive/7139196/colonoscopies-cut-the-risk-of-cancer-death-by-half/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-02-23T22:31:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T05:38:49.867Z article:section: Health og:title: Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half og:description: They’re no fun to get, but colonoscopies save lives. 7139196 og:url: https://time.com/archive/7139196/colonoscopies-cut-the-risk-of-cancer-death-by-half/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt791ad9390a5db61d/698a93cce6e84a70fb2b91db/600_hl_colonoscopy_0223.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 600_hl_colonoscopy_0223 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half twitter:description: They’re no fun to get, but colonoscopies save lives. 7139196 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt791ad9390a5db61d/698a93cce6e84a70fb2b91db/600_hl_colonoscopy_0223.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 23, 2012 10:31 PM UTC  Brian Evans / Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 23, 2012 10:31 PM UTC They’re no fun to get, but colonoscopies save lives.more That’s what data on 2,602 patients, who underwent the screening test and had potentially cancerous polyps removed from their colons, showed. Over 23 years of follow-up, 12 of these patients died, where 25 would have been expected to die in a similar group from the general population — amounting to a 53% lower death rate associated with colonoscopy. While the benefits of colonoscopy have long been known, previous studies had established only that the test [reduced the incidence of colon cancers](http://healthland.time.com/2011/01/03/study-colonoscopy-is-worth-the-discomfort/). By spotting and removing precancerous growths that could develop into tumors, colonoscopy helps stop colon cancer from developing. But whether the test also saves lives has not been entirely clear. **MORE:** [**Men May Benefit from Earlier Colonoscopy, but Women Can Wait**](http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/28/study-men-may-benefit-from-earlier-colonoscopy-but-women-can-wait/) Because not all growths develop into cancers and not all cancers are fatal, some have wondered whether the screen actually lowered patients’ risk of dying from colon cancer or simply removed abnormal lesions. The [current study](http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1100370?query=featured%5Fhome), led by Dr. Sidney Winawer, a gastroenterologist as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and published in the _New England Journal of Medicine_, offers strong evidence that it saves lives. “This study puts that argument to rest,” Dr. David Rothenberger of the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, who wasn’t involved in the study, [told](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/health/colonoscopy-prevents-cancer-deaths-study-finds.html?pagewanted=1) the New York _Times_. Documenting that a cancer screen saves lives is critical for [justifying its cost and potential complications](http://healthland.time.com/2009/11/06/cancer-screening-smackdown-continues-pap-smears-and-colonoscopies-take-a-hit/) — not to mention the discomfort. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force currently recommend that people begin screening for colon cancer at age 50\. The guidelines do not recommend one type of screen over another — along with colonoscopy, other screening tests include sigmoidoscopy (which scans only the lower third of the colon), [virtual colonoscopy](http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/03/virtual-colonoscopy-gains-in-popularity-is-it-right-for-you/), barium enemas and fecal blood tests. Studies have not yet established whether one screening tool is more accurate or predictive than the others, and the current review did not compare different screening methods. However, a [second study](http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1108895?query=featured%5Fhome) published in the same issue of the _NEJM_ found that colonoscopies are more effective at finding polyps than fecal blood tests, revealing 10 times more early cases of disease, which further affirms the advantages of the procedure. Another key benefit of colonoscopy, experts say, is that it combines screening with treatment: the test involves a thin tube equipped with a camera and a device that can snip off polyps, so doctors can remove suspicious growths during the test. **MORE:** [**Cancer Health Special: The Screening Dilemma**](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2075133%5F2075127%5F2075108-1,00.html) The results of the current study confirm that despite the discomfort, colon-cancer screening is worth it. “Sure, it’s a pain in the neck. People complain to me all the time, ‘It’s horrible. It’s terrible,’” Winawer [told](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FMED%5FCOLON%5FCANCER%5FTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-23-11-49-11) the Associated Press. “But look at the alternative.” At least patients don’t have to undergo the procedure every year if the initial test is negative. The ACS recommends a colonoscopy every 10 years for those who aren’t at high risk of colon cancer. _Alice Park is a writer at TIME. Find her on Twitter at_ [_@aliceparkny_](http://twitter.com/#%21/aliceparkny)_. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s_ [_Facebook page_](http://www.facebook.com/time) _and on Twitter at_ [_@TIME_](http://twitter.com/#%21/TIME)_._ Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7139196/colonoscopies-cut-the-risk-of-cancer-death-by-half/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7139196/colonoscopies-cut-the-risk-of-cancer-death-by-half/"},"headline":"Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half","datePublished":"2012-02-23T22:31:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T05:38:49.867Z","description":"They’re no fun to get, but colonoscopies save lives. 7139196","url":"https://time.com/archive/7139196/colonoscopies-cut-the-risk-of-cancer-death-by-half/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt791ad9390a5db61d/698a93cce6e84a70fb2b91db/600_hl_colonoscopy_0223.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt791ad9390a5db61d/698a93cce6e84a70fb2b91db/600_hl_colonoscopy_0223.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"600_hl_colonoscopy_0223","caption":"","creditText":"Brian Evans / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7139196/colonoscopies-cut-the-risk-of-cancer-death-by-half/","name":"Colonoscopies Cut the Risk of Cancer Death by Half"}}]}] ```