European study suggests five-year interval for colonoscopy surveillance

An international study published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the interval for the first surveillance colonoscopy following the removal of high-risk colorectal polyps could be extended from three to five years.

The European Polyp Surveillance Trial (EPoS) involved 10,799 patients with advanced adenomas across eight European countries. The research indicates that delaying the first surveillance colonoscopy to the five-year mark does not significantly increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer or dying from the disease compared to a three-year interval.