Use of Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests
Colorectal cancer screening saves lives. Screening can find precancerous polyps—abnormal growths in the colon or rectum—that can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening also helps find colorectal cancer at an early stage, when treatment works best.
Please note: In May 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed its colorectal cancer screening recommendation. The age at which adults at average risk of getting colorectal cancer were recommended to begin screening was lowered from 50 to 45. The data shown here do not include adults younger than age 50.
Estimates are age-standardized to the 2000 United States standard population. Prevalence estimates by race and ethnicity may differ from other published sources because people who report more than one race are grouped with the race with which they most closely identify. Estimates for people who are American Indian/Alaska Native or Black/African American are most affected. Prevalence estimates are not available if the unweighted sample size for the denominator was less than 50 or the Relative Standard Error (RSE) is greater than 0.30. Estimates for the United States include Puerto Rico and Guam.