Colorectal Cancer Screening: ABFM practice questions

12 board-style questions on colorectal cancer screening in the PulseMD family medicine question bank, written against current guidelines with the reference cited on each question. Two free samples below; the full set with answers, explanations, and spaced review is free to start.

Sample question 1

A 44-year-old woman with no family history of colorectal cancer presents for a routine health maintenance visit. She has no GI symptoms, no personal history of inflammatory bowel disease or polyps, and no known genetic syndromes. She asks when she should begin colorectal cancer screening. According to the current USPSTF guidelines, at what age should average-risk screening begin?

  1. She should begin screening immediately at age 44
  2. Screening should begin at age 50
  3. Screening should begin at age 45
  4. Screening is not recommended for women without risk factors

Sample question 2

A 52-year-old man undergoes his first screening colonoscopy. Two tubular adenomas measuring 7 mm and 4 mm are found and completely removed. Pathology confirms tubular adenomas with low-grade dysplasia only. He has no family history of colorectal cancer. According to the US Multi-Society Task Force guidelines, when should his next surveillance colonoscopy be scheduled?

  1. In 1 year
  2. No further surveillance is needed; return to average-risk screening in 10 years
  3. In 3 years
  4. In 7 to 10 years

Create a free PulseMD account to answer these, see the explanations, and practice five minutes a day.

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