Screening rates for colorectal cancer low - educating Americans about colorectal cancer - Brief Article

AORN Journal, May, 2003

Screening rates for colorectal cancer are low despite the fact that more than one-third of deaths from this type of cancer could be avoided if people ages 50 and older were screened regularly, according to a March 13, 2003, news release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Only 53.1% of US men and women ages 50 and older were screened within the recommended period during 2001, meaning approximately half of this population did not adhere to screening guidelines for that year.

Among cancers, colorectal cancer is the second leading killer in the United States. The CDC estimates that 57,100 people will die from colorectal cancer in 2003 even though screening could detect precancerous growths (ie, polyps) that lead to the disease. Polyps can be removed before they become cancerous, thereby preventing the disease and potentially reducing the number of deaths.

According to CDC recommendations, men and women should begin regular colorectal screening when they reach age 50. They should receive one or a combination of four screening tests, including fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and barium enema. Recent data show that 44.6% of adults age 50 or older have had a fecal occult blood test, and 47.3% have had a lower endoscopy (ie, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy).

The director of the CDC says that efforts to educate Americans about colorectal cancer must be expanded. In an effort to do so, the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services support an educational program titled Screen for Life: A National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign. Materials can be found online at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/screenforlife and http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorctl/calltoaction/index.htm.> CDC Study Finds Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Remain Low (news release, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 13, 2003) http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r030313.htm (accessed 18 March 2003).