| Theme |
Average-risk colon cander screening |
| Title |
Colorectal cancer screening using a combination of fecal occult blood testing and flexible sigmoidoscopy |
| Author |
Ryoichi Nozaki |
Coloproctology Center, Takano Hospital |
| Author |
Nagatoshi Tanaka |
Coloproctology Center, Takano Hospital |
| Author |
Natsuko Tadakuma |
Coloproctology Center, Takano Hospital |
| Author |
Norikazu Moritai |
Coloproctology Center, Takano Hospital |
| Author |
Masahiro Takano |
Coloproctology Center, Takano Hospital |
| [ Summary ] |
Since 1983, we have been conducting mass screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) using a combination of an immunochemical fecal occult blood test (IFOBT) and flexible sigmoidoscopy (SCF). For three years, from April 1992 to March 1995, we found 348 cases of CRC in 195,753 examinees, using a screening test with a two-day IFOBT only. The detection rate was 0.18%. On the other hand, the frequency of CRC found by SCF in a total of 41,765 examinees with negative IFOBT was 0.16% (68 cases): early CRC 0.15% (61 cases); advanced CRC 0.02% (7 cases). The positive rate of IFOBT was 44.4% in early CRC. In those cases the intra mucosal cancer rate was 38.0% False-negative cases containing invasive cancer were likely to be less than 10mm in size. These results demon strate that screening only with two-day IFOBT there is a possibility of overlooking a significant number of CRC at an early, curable stage. Therefore, we conclude that the combined use of IFOBT and SCF is an effective and useful screening method for CRC, not only in multiphasic health checkups or "human dry docks", but also in mass screening. |