At Anne Arundel Gastroenterology Associates, Colonoscopies Save Lives

Abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss or a change in bowel movements could be a sign of a bigger problem. In the United States, colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and the fourth-leading cause in women.

Colorectal cancer is also the leading cause of cancer deaths among U.S. residents younger than 50, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The term colorectal combines colon and rectal cancer since the two share some risk factors and symptoms.

Dr. Kent Aje, a gastroenterologist at Anne Arundel Gastroenterology Associates, explained that some people are predisposed to colorectal cancer. This includes anyone with a first-degree relative — a parent, child or sibling — with colorectal cancer. It also includes anyone with Lynch syndrome or familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). But anyone can be diagnosed with the disease.

“Some of the lifestyle factors are still being studied, but we know that alcohol use, tobacco use and obesity have been linked to colon cancer, as have diets that have more processed meats and high-fat dairy,” Aje said.

There is good news, though. Studies show that colorectal cancer screening and early-stage detection result in five-year survival rates in more than 90% of cases in the United States.

American Cancer Society guidelines suggest screening from age 45 to 75 for patients with a life expectancy greater than 10 years. While at-home stool and blood-based tests have emerged as convenient screening options, providers prefer one method as the best for saving lives.

“I am a big believer that any type of screening is better than no screening, but the gold standard remains getting a colonoscopy,” Aje said. “The implementation of stool-based screenings are inappropriate sometimes. If you’ve ever had a colon polyp or have a family history of colon cancer, you’re not the best candidate.”

One study of nearly 4,000 Cologuard at-home test users found that 38.5% had a false positive rate, according to the National Library of Medicine. By contrast, colonoscopies have a detection rate of 85% to 95% for all precancerous lesions, significantly reducing the risk of cancer development.

At-home tests are typically recommended every three years whereas colonoscopies are not needed as often.

“Colonoscopies are efficient,” Aje added. “If I don’t find any colon polyps during the evaluation, the patient does not need another colonoscopy for 10 years.”

How It Works

During a colonoscopy, a tube with a small camera is passed through a patient’s rectum and into the colon. With those tools, a provider can look for inflamed tissue, ulcers, bleeding or other problems.

“The overall procedure is easy, especially in our center,” Aje said. “You come an hour before your scheduled time and meet the anesthesia staff, and they place an IV in your vein to keep you comfortable. When patients are fully asleep, we insert a camera and it takes about eight minutes to investigate from beginning to end if there are any polyps.”

Risks are rare but those include bleeding and tears.

“The tough part for patients, understandably, is the bowel prep,” Aje said. “We have great guidelines on how to make sure we get a clean gut.”

Efficiency and each patient’s experience are of utmost importance at Anne Arundel Gastroenterology Associates.

“We have six rooms operating at any time of the day, and we see over 100 cases a day,” Aje said. “At the same time, we never compromise our standards. We have well-trained recovery nurses, anesthesiologists and gastrointestinal (GI) techs who are all part of this well-oiled machine.”

Colonoscopies are relatively quick, but patients can expect to spend about three hours at the center when accounting for changing clothes, IV setup, anesthesia, the procedure and recovery.

Aje and his fellow providers want patients to know that the three hours are worth it.

“Colon cancer is preventable, treatable and beatable,” Aje said.

Anne Arundel Gastroenterology Associates has offices in Annapolis, Pasadena, Odenton, Stevensville, Bowie and Greenbelt. For more information, call 410-224-2116 for the Annapolis location or visit www.aagastro.com.