Primary Tumor Sidedness and Screening, Colonoscopy, and Surveillance

To the Editor Petrelli and colleagues examined the prognostic role of left- vs right-sidedness of primary colon cancer by a systematic review and meta-analysis and found that tumors on the right side were associated with significantly higher risk of death. They proposed incorporating colon cancer sidedness as a criterion for establishing prognosis when deciding oncologic treatment intensity in the adjuvant and metastatic settings. Whereas their findings were robust and bear important implications for oncologists, they could also be generalized to primary care practitioners and endoscopists. Their findings could contribute to at least 3 additional areas of clinical practice, including risk-based screening, prioritization of diagnostic colonoscopy, and colonoscopy surveillance intervals.

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