Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer related death in the U.S., with nearly 53,0001 fatalities expected in 2025. While the burden of this disease is significant, advancements in treatment and technology offer new opportunities for prevention, early detection and improved patient care.
To learn more about the current landscape and best practices in screening for colorectal cancer, Becker’s Healthcare spoke with two leading experts from Connecticut GI: Neda Khaghan, MD, and Neil Parikh, MD.
Colorectal cancer: Key trends and considerations
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates 154,000 individuals will be diagnosed with new cases of colorectal cancer in 2025 — including 107,000 cases of colon cancer and 47,000 cases of rectal cancer. This makes colorectal cancers the third most common cancer in the U.S., excluding skin cancers. Both men and women in the U.S. have about a 1 in 25 chance of developing colorectal cancer in their lifetime.2
According to the ACS, the rate of people being diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer has decreased since the mid-1980s, mainly due to increased preventative screenings and changes in lifestyle-related risk factors. From 2012 to 2021, cases of colon cancer dropped by about 1% per year.
However, the overall downward trend reflects mostly older adults. In the same time frame, the rate of colorectal cancer increased 2.4% per year in people younger than 50.
Colon cancer screening
When physicians first discovered that precancerous adenomas changed to colorectal cancer, they observed that it takes at least five years to become cancerous. These discoveries led to the development of multiple screening methods for colorectal cancer, as well as screening guidelines.3
Three primary screening methods currently include:4
- Stool-based tests: These check the stool (feces) for signs of colorectal cancer or polyps, such as small amounts of blood or changes in the DNA or RNA from cells or in the stool. These tests are not invasive and can be done at home. Specific types of stool-based tests include a fecal immunochemical test (FIT), a guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) and multitargeted stool DNA or RNA tests.
- Visual exams: These tests look inside the colon and rectum for any abnormal areas that might be cancer or polyps. The best known visual exam is a colonoscopy, introduced in the 1970s. The National Cancer Institute considers colonoscopy the gold standard and the most common screening method for colorectal cancer in the U.S.5 Furthermore, by removing precancerous polyps, colonoscopy remains the only screening tool which can help prevent colorectal cancer.
- Other visual exams are CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) — an advanced type of CT scan of the colon or rectum that can show abnormal areas — and sigmoidoscopy, which is similar to a colonoscopy but does not examine the entire colon.
- Blood-based tests: There are currently two FDA-approved blood-based tests for colorectal screening for people at average risk.
Screening for colorectal cancer is extremely important, as studies have found that a significant percentage of deaths from colorectal cancer are due to absence of screening.6
Since the mid-1990s, national guidelines recommended that people 50 and older — and at average risk for colorectal cancer — should be screened regularly.7 In 2020, about 70% of U.S. adults between the ages of 50 and 75 had undergone colorectal cancer screening.
In 2021, at the recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the guidelines were changed to include screening adults ages 45 to 49.8
ACS now recommends that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45, to be continued through age 75. From ages 76 to 85, the decision to be screened is based on a person’s preferences, health, life expectancy and prior screening history. People over the age of 85 should no longer get screened. For people at high risk, the recommended screening guidelines are different.9
Innovative colon cancer screening in Connecticut
Connecticut GI is a leading expert in colon cancer screening, recognized by The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). With 119 providers in 31 locations, Connecticut GI is a non-private-equity-owned organization and the No. 1 GI provider in Connecticut. Their team provides personalized, around-the-clock treatment by board-certified physicians and teams who offer comprehensive services for GI care, including colon cancer screening. This includes being one of the first GI practices to pilot Medtronic’s GI Genius™ intelligent endoscopy module.
“Connecticut GI is dedicated to innovation and advancing GI care,” Dr. Parikh said. “We recently adopted AI technology in many of our ASCs, which allow gastroenterologists to identify polyps more accurately and increase overall adenoma detection rates.”
To enhance its level of care, Connecticut GI has partnered with and is powered by the GI Alliance, the nation’s most distinguished network of gastroenterology specialists. GI Alliance was rated in 2024 as the top GI brand in the country by Castle Connolly.
“As a gastroenterologist in the greater New York metro area, Connecticut GI and GI Alliance’s structure allows us to care for patients in our immediate community while being supported by a professional and patient-centric physician leadership team,” Dr. Khaghan said.
At its low-cost ASCs and endoscopy centers throughout the state, Connecticut GI stays on the cutting edge by constantly evaluating and adopting innovative technologies to improve the quality of care, patient outcomes and the patient experience.
“We are also piloting machine learning and AI in non-patient facing areas to enhance operational efficiency so our staff can be freer to better serve our patients,” Dr. Parikh said. “Innovations such as this are only possible when a practice lives its mission to be patient first.”
- Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer, American Cancer Society
- Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer, American Cancer Society
- Colorectal Cancer Screening History, Method and Future Perspectives, May 2023, Archives of Clinical and Medical Case Reports ISSN:2575-9655
- Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests, American Cancer Society
- Colorectal Cancer Screening: Where Does the Shield Liquid Biopsy Fit In? National Cancer Institute, October 2024
- Colorectal Cancer: Evolution of Screening Strategies, Medicine and Pharmacy Reports, 2019
- Trends in Screening for Colorectal Cancer – United States, 1997 and 1999, CDC
- Final Recommendation Statement – Colorectal Cancer: Screening, May 18, 2021, US Preventive Screening Task Force
- American Cancer Society Guideline for Colorectal Cancer Screening
