Colonoscopy screening every 10 years shows a statistically significant benefit in reducing colon cancer and mortality, but with minimal clinical significance.

“so there was a recent study um that got a lot of attention in Europe I think it was published in the New England Journal of Medicine that looked at uh colonoscopies um the study took a large group of people and they were randomized into two groups so one group was standard of care don't do anything the next group was suggested that they should have a colonoscopy in the next decade okay at the end of the decade they were compared for rates of colon cancer and colon cancer mortality and all cause mortality and while there was a slight benefit to the group that were recommended to get a colonoscopy it was nothing to write home about the the relative and absolute difference in colon cancer and colon cancer deaths while statistically significant didn't seem very clinically significant and opponents of colonoscopy said look this is proof positive colonoscopies don't save lives the route of it is no it's proof positive that telling people to maybe get a colonoscopy once every 10 years when by the way I think less than 40% of them actually did probably doesn't save lives that's very different from the example and the approach that we take”