Many physicians do not refer their patients for colon-cancer screening as consistently as they should, according to a study by researchers at UC Davis, the University of Washington and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. "Colorectal cancer screening is not on the primary-care agenda as much as it should be," said lead author Joshua Fenton, UC Davis assistant professor of family and community medicine. The team's examination of the records of nearly 50,000 men and women aged 50 to 78 revealed that more than half with frequent primary-care visits did not receive screening. The study was published in the February edition of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.