Colonoscopy Screening for Colon Polyps: Can It Be Useful at an Earlier Age for Preventing Malignant Transformation?

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether colonoscopy screening should be performed at an earlier age than specified in the current guidelines.Methods: Data of 1882 patients who presented to the gastroenterology clinic of our hospital and underwent colonoscopy were retrospectively evaluated. Polyps detected during colonoscopy were excised and sent to the pathology laboratory for histopathological examination. Patients were divided into two groups as <45 yo and ≥45 yo and the data were compared between the groups. Results: The most common indications for colonoscopy were found as abdominal pain in 40.6% of the patients, rectal bleeding in 18.6%, constipation in 14.2%, anemia in 10.5%, diarrhea in 3.1%, and other reasons in 6.8%. The rate of polyps was statistically significantly higher in ≥45 yo patients (43.3%) compared to <45 yo patients (32.1%). The rate of neoplastic polyps was statistically significantly higher in the ≥45 yo group compared to the <45 yo group. The most common localizations of polyps were rectum and sigmoid colon in all age groups.Conclusion: Based on our findings, we believe that the onset age of screening for colon polyps should be 45 years as recommended by the updated guidelines. Also, colonoscopy screening should be performed in young adults without alarm symptoms who present with lower gastrointestinal complaints.