Preventing Colorectal Cancer Using New European Guidelines - report from UEG Week 2026

I just chaired a session here in Barcelona at UEG Week, and that session was on the new guideline development on colorectal cancer screening.

And I think it was a very nice and interesting session because we had somebody from the EU explain the whole process for all the cancer screening programs, which is not just colorectal cancer.

So there's a larger plan on how to organize that.

Second, we had a speaker who was detailing more to colorectal cancer and telling us more about the different working groups.

But I think where it starts getting really interesting is of course our daily practice as a gastroenterologist and endoscopist.

So colorectal cancer screening of course in the end aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from colorectal cancer.

And what the committee advocates at the moment where there is agreement upon is to promote fit screening from age 50 to 69. there there's conditions and circumstances where either other tests could be considered like sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy at other intervals and also where the age range can be discussed but currently there's no reason seen to reduce below the age of 50 although yes we do seem some more early onset colorectal cancers but still that group is relatively small so the number needed to screen to get really benefit from it is not yet worthwhile.

So that's about the tests and the age.

Then about the whole process where I think very much it comes into play the quality of what the screening program does on the fit and on the organization but also we do as gastroenterologists, and that deals with the colonoscopy procedures.

And that's where we as gastroenterologists should be really close by the whole development of that part.

So Rodrigo Govert is leading the group, and I am also involved in that, discussing the quality parameters for the fit, but then also for colonoscopy, for pathology, and for all these trajectories.

So it's quality.

And what about quality? Well, we're discussing how we do the colonoscopies and how that quality can be assured.

Quality of the program, so yes, Can we meet the objectives of, in the end, reducing incidence and mortality, but also many other parameters in the meantime, like less large lesions and other findings and participation and all those.

Then for us as gastroenterologists, quality of the endoscopy.

I can't stress more.

I'm also the chair for the QIC Committee, the Quality Committee for the ESG, which covers all the types of endoscopy and services.

But of course, colonoscopy, that's been my main interest for long.

And colonoscopy, we know nowadays that there's validated quality parameters.

So parameters we can use to know whether our quality is well.

And you might think, well, what's the problem? I know I'm doing well.

My patients are happy.

I'm having a good practice.

I'm fine.

Yes, probably you are, but we need to objectively be knowing that.

I just chaired a session here in Barcelona at UEG Week, and that session was on the new guideline development on colorectal cancer screening.

And I think it was a very nice and interesting session because we had somebody from the EU explain the whole process for all the cancer screening programs, which is not just colorectal cancer.

So there's a larger plan on how to organize that.

Second, we had a speaker who was detailing more to colorectal cancer and telling us more about the different working groups.

But I think where it starts getting really interesting is of course our daily practice as a gastroenterologist and endoscopist.

So colorectal cancer screening of course in the end aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from colorectal cancer.

And what the committee advocates at the moment where there is agreement upon is to promote fit screening from age 50 to 69. there there's conditions and circumstances where either other tests could be considered like sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy at other intervals and also where the age range can be discussed but currently there's no reason seen to reduce below the age of 50 although yes we do seem some more early onset colorectal cancers but still that group is relatively small so the number needed to screen to get really benefit from it is not yet worthwhile.

So that's about the tests and the age.

Then about the whole process where I think very much it comes into play the quality of what the screening program does on the fit and on the organization but also we do as gastroenterologists, and that deals with the colonoscopy procedures.

And that's where we as gastroenterologists should be really close by the whole development of that part.

So Rodrigo Govert is leading the group, and I am also involved in that, discussing the quality parameters for the fit, but then also for colonoscopy, for pathology, and for all these trajectories.

So it's quality.

And what about quality? Well, we're discussing how we do the colonoscopies and how that quality can be assured.

Quality of the program, so yes, Can we meet the objectives of, in the end, reducing incidence and mortality, but also many other parameters in the meantime, like less large lesions and other findings and participation and all those.

Then for us as gastroenterologists, quality of the endoscopy.

I can't stress more.

I'm also the chair for the QIC Committee, the Quality Committee for the ESG, which covers all the types of endoscopy and services.

But of course, colonoscopy, that's been my main interest for long.

And colonoscopy, we know nowadays that there's validated quality parameters.

So parameters we can use to know whether our quality is well.

And you might think, well, what's the problem? I know I'm doing well.

My patients are happy.

I'm having a good practice.

I'm fine.

Yes, probably you are, but we need to objectively be knowing that.