GI Cancer Screening Protocol
Aggressive screening combining colonoscopy and upper endoscopy starting at age 40 to effectively eliminate deaths from colon, esophageal, and stomach cancer.
Assembled by Cited from Peter Attia's recorded recommendations across multiple sources. It is not an ordered program and was not created or endorsed by them — it's our grouping of what they've said on the record.
Components
2-
In a protocol
Attia advocates aggressive colon cancer screening via colonoscopy, starting around age 40 with no family history, and repeating every 1-3 years rather than every 5-10.
“nobody should ever die from colon cancer
TP▶ 26:00DosageFirst at age 40; repeat every 1-3 yearsCaveatsCosts ~$2,000 out of pocket; small sedation and perforation riskCertaintyexplicitstrong endorsementFirst colonoscopy at 40, repeat every 1-3 years -
In a protocol
Attia recommends combining upper endoscopy with colonoscopy to screen the esophagus and stomach for cancer.
“you basically get for free the esophagus and stomach
TP▶ 28:20CertaintyexplicitrecommendationDone together with colonoscopy — 'get the esophagus and stomach for free'
How this protocol has evolved
Attia has become much more aggressive on both the starting age (40 vs 45-50) and frequency (every 1-3 years vs 5-10) over the last 100 episodes.