The United States may get a high shortage of gastroenterologists because of the increasing population and colorectal cancer screening demands.

According to The Lewin Group study, the United States will need a further 1,050 gastroenterologists at current rates of cancer screening by 2020. The firm found that if the rate of colorectal cancer screening was to increase by 10%, it would need up to 1550 additional gastroenterologists. Colon cancer is the second leading cancer in the nation. According to the report, there are currently 10,390 gastroenterologists in the United States dealing with it.

The projections were examined by external experts and instructed by Olympus Corporation of the Americas to produce cameras for colorectal cancer screening.

Many reports have already reported a reduction in primary care doctors and geriatricians needed to treat the aging population. However, fixing these shortages may still not improve the detection and treatment of colorectal cancer.

Dr. David A. Johnson, the head of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School of Norfolk, Va. and past president of U.S. College of Gastroenterology, noted that primary care doctors do not offer any specialized services such as colonoscopies that may detect precancerous polyps.

"We know that colorectal cancer screening is one of the most cost-effective preventive things we can do," he said. "The older the patients, the more likely cancer and precancer disease are to develop."

Current recommendations require screening of colorectal cancer for individuals who will start at age 50. But only 60% of those aged 50 and older reported about screening according to the 2006 survey by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report noted.

"The shortage of gastroenterologists could restrict the country's ability to implement [cancer] screening national guidelines, especially for under-served communities," said Tim Dall, vice chairman and study author of the Lewin Group.

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**Disclaimer: This blog content does not offer a doctor's advice and creates no relationship between any patient and care provider.