| Theme | Up-to-date Therapuetic Strategy for Advanced Colorectal Cancer | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | The Significance of Colorectal Cancer Screening | |
| Publish Date | 2000/11 | |
| Author | Seibi Kobayashi | Department of Internal Medicine, Aichi Sannomaru Hospital |
| Author | Tadashi Kato | Aichi Medical Foundation of Diagnostic Technology |
| Author | Tatsuzo Kasugai | Nagoya Memorial Hospital |
| [ Summary ] | Fecal occult blood testing is a simple and inexpensive method of screening for colorectal cancer. Reducing mortality from colorectal cancer by screening for fecal occult blood has been reported by some radomized controlled trials and case-control studies. In 1992, the Japanese government started colorectal cancer screening by fecal occult blood testing with immunochemical tests, as a national project. The number of participants exceeded 5 million in 1998. Through the period from 1992 to 1998 ,the rates of positive occult blood tests and persons having detailed examinations from those with positive tests were nearly 7.0% and 60.0%, respectively. Colorectal cancers were found in approximately 0.15% and the positive predictive value was 2.0 to 2.2%. There has been criticism of compliancerates of detailed examinations, which were considerably low through this period. This should be improved by continuing efforts in health education for the participants. In both mass screening and clinical practice, localized tumors of Duke's A and B were found in 70 to 80% of the patients with colorectal cancer, in the screened population. To reduce the mortarity nationwide, the number of participants should be increased up to 30% of the general population. |
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