The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 97,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year and will cause approximately 50,600 deaths. It is the third most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer death.
Although colorectal cancer screening has been shown to be effective in reducing cancer deaths, researchers report that the number of screeners is too small. The current guidelines of the ACS recommend routine screening for general-risk groups 45 years of age and older, using high-sensitivity fecal examination or structural (visual) examination, and all positive results should be colonoscopy. Despite these recommendations, the study found significant differences in screening rates, including ethnicity, geographic area, and other socioeconomic factors.
Ponieważ raka jelita grubego is a preventable disease, efforts are being made throughout the country to increase the screening rate of colorectal cancer, but the screening rate is only about 63%, while the screening rate of low-income and other vulnerable groups is often lower.
The latest research suggests that with stool immunochemical tests, or FIT kits, they can detect blood in stool and common symptoms of colon cancer. The patient can complete the test at home and return it to the provider for analysis. Patients with a positive result of the FIT kit test will be scheduled for colonoscopy.
W badaniu 21% pacjentów, którzy otrzymali zestaw FIT, ukończyło test przesiewowy, a 18 osób, które ukończyły test FIT, miało nieprawidłowe wyniki, a 15 z nich wymagało kolonoskopii. Spośród 10 pacjentów, którzy ukończyli kolonoskopię, 1 pacjent miał nieprawidłowe wyniki.
Naukowcy planują kontynuować badania, czy tę metodę wykrywania można wdrożyć na większą skalę i dowiedzieć się więcej o opłacalności i sposobach zwiększenia wskaźnika badań przesiewowych grup wrażliwych.
