[divbzero]

I agree. Even if intention-to-treat is the gold standard endpoint for trials, a more accurate and nuanced headline for the general public would be:

Inviting patients to undergo screening colonoscopy fails to reduce rate of cancer deaths

[pessimizer]

Or: If you compare a group of people who never get colonoscopies with a group of people containing many who do get colonoscopies, the same number of people die.

Imagine two cages filled with identical mice. One you drop some food into, and the other you don't. They starve to death at the same rate. Surprised?