Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening
Reported September 24, 2007
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States. New research reveals a new way to catch this cancer in its earliest stages and points to a promising option.
Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia conducted a study to determine how well standard and tailored educational interventions worked in primary care settings. In the study, 1,546 patients at risk for colorectal cancer were assigned to one of four groups:
Group 1: No intervention;
Group 2: Received standard intervention including mailed education and screening supplies;
Group 3: Received tailored intervention including mailed personalized education and screening supplies;
Group 4: Received tailored intervention with a one-year phone follow-up
Two years after the study started, researchers found colorectal cancer screening rates were significantly higher in the three intervention groups when compared to the control group. The screening rate among those who received no intervention was 33 percent, while the screening rates in groups two, three and four were 46 percent, 44 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
Researchers report this suggests screening rates for colorectal cancer can be increased significantly in primary care practices. Study authors write, “These findings provide support for the use of simple, personalized interventions in primary care practice settings to increase [colorectal cancer] screening use among adult patients who are not up to date with [colorectal cancer] screening guidelines.”
The general current guidelines recommend, starting at age 50, fecal blood testing every one to two years, a flexible sigmoidoscopy or barium enema every five years and a colonoscopy every 10 years. Previous research revealed only 42 percent of Americans had a fecal blood test or endoscopy within the previous five years.
SOURCE: CANCER, published online Sept. 24, 2007