UK population study confirms benefits of colorectal cancer screening

British researchers said on Tuesday that a “real-life” study involving nearly half a million people has confirmed that many lives could be saved if a national colorectal cancer-screening programme is introduced.

The University of Edinburgh team evaluated the results of a 2-year pilot project in which 189,000 men and women over 50 years old in England and 297,000 in Scotland were invited for faecal occult blood testing (FOBt).The pilot was launched by the government’s national screening committee to see if testing is feasible and if it would reduce mortality before colorectal cancer screening is introduced nationwide.”We found that FOBt screening is feasible in the UK population,” study co-author Professor David Weller said in a statement. “This means that mortality reductions demonstrated in earlier randomised studies would likely be achieved in the population if a national program is established.””Our recommendation to the Department of Health is that FOBt should be part of new national strategies targeting colorectal cancer,” the team added in a report published at www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/colorectal/finalreport.pdf.They warned, however, that extra resources for colonoscopy and other services must also be provided.”The pilot project had a modest impact on the workload in general practices, but did generate additional workload for hospitals. We anticipate increases in workload for pathology, radiology, oncology and also initially for surgery,” Professor Weller said.Each year, about 34,000 people in Britain are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. And about 16,000 patients die every year even though 90% of cases might be treated successfully if the cancer is diagnosed early.In the study, 60% of people invited for screening took part in the project. Uptake was lowest among men, younger people, those from deprived areas and individuals of ethnic origin.”The study found that those who turned down the chance to take part in the screening programme showed a range of lifestyle factors which could increase their risk of colorectal cancer and other diseases,” the researchers said.”However, taking part in the scheme seemed to raise awareness of the disease and those who responded indicated that they were more likely to take preventive measures in the future.”Around 2% of test results were positive, an “entirely acceptable” rate for a population screening programme. Just over 80% of people with a positive test result underwent colonoscopy. The lowest uptake was among poor people and ethnic minorities.As a result of the colonoscopy, more than 300 people with early-stage disease were identified.(Source: Reuters Health: July 8, 2003: Oncolink)