The Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment Tool

The Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment Tool was designed for doctors and other health care providers to use with their patients. The tool estimates the risk of colorectal cancer over the next 5 years and the lifetime risk for men and women who are:

  • Between the ages of 45 and 85
  • White
  • Black/African American
  • Asian American/Pacific Islander
  • Hispanic/Latino

This tool takes about 5 minutes to complete.

This tool cannot accurately estimate risk of colorectal cancer for people who have the following health conditions:

  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn disease
  • Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
  • Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC), also known as Lynch Syndrome
  • Personal history of colorectal cancer

There is not as much data available for blacks/African Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, or Hispanics/Latinos. Until researchers complete additional studies to provide more information about these groups, their results may be less accurate. While the tool is not perfect, it can still help doctors and their patients better understand personal risk of colorectal cancer.

This tool does not currently apply to American Indians and Alaska Natives; however, we plan to improve the tool for use by these groups.

This tool cannot accurately estimate risk of colorectal cancer for people who have the following health conditions:

  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn disease
  • Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
  • Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC), also known as Lynch Syndrome
  • Personal history of colorectal cancer

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