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No randomized trials have been conducted to evaluate the effect of screening colonoscopy on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, and observational studies have suggested varying degrees of benefit. In a case-control study from Germany, researchers enrolled more than 1600 patients (mean age, 70) with CRC and 1900 controls (matched by age, sex, and county) who were selected randomly from population registries; association between prior colonoscopy and risk for CRC was assessed. Possible controls with histories of CRC or inflammatory bowel disease were excluded.
Forty-one percent of controls and 14% of case patients had undergone colonoscopy during the preceding 10 years. After adjusting for potential confounders, the overall odds ratio for developing…