Comment by CrazyStat

Colonoscopies, involving inserting instruments into the body, are definitely an invasive medical procedure.

> An invasive procedure is one where purposeful/deliberate access to the body is gained via an incision, percutaneous puncture, where instrumentation is used in addition to the puncture needle, or instrumentation via a natural orifice. It begins when entry to the body is gained and ends when the instrument is removed, and/or the skin is closed. Invasive procedures are performed by trained healthcare professionals using instruments, which include, but are not limited to, endoscopes, catheters, scalpels, scissors, devices and tubes.

[1], emphasis added.

> A medical procedure that invades (enters) the body, usually by cutting or puncturing the skin or by inserting instruments into the body.

[2], emphasis added

> An invasive procedure is one in which the body is "invaded", or entered by a needle, tube, device, or scope.

[3], emphasis added

Is it a big deal? Maybe not to you, maybe to other people. Is it better than a much cheaper (and not invasive) FOBT? Questionable.

NordICC [4] found an 18% reduction in colon cancer incidence after 10 years with a colonoscopy screening program, but no statistically significant reduction in mortality (either colon cancer or all-cause). Hardcastle et al. [5] found no reduction in colon cancer incidence but a 15% reduction in colon cancer mortality after 7.8 years with a FOBT screening program.

Everyone's gungho about evidence-based medicine until the evidence fails to support their preferred procedures.

[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6678000/

[2] https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-term...

[3] https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002384.htm

[4] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8942775/