[Early detection of colorectal carcinoma. Pros and cons]

Apart from a healthy diet and adequate exercise, early detection measures are applied in the prevention of colorectal. The hemoccult test continues to serve as a screening method. It it proves to be positive, a colonoscopic study should always be performed. Using this approach, 20-30% of polyps in the bowel and early cancer stages can be detected and removed as a prophylactic measure. The hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer syndrome (HNPCC) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) yare the most important risk factors for the development of colorectal carcinoma. However, patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis also have a greatly increased risk and require more intensive bowel cancer prophylaxis.