scholarly journals Colorectal cancer and the blood loss paradox

2021 ◽  
pp. flgastro-2021-101959
Author(s):  
Orouba Almilaji ◽  
Sally D Parry ◽  
Sharon Docherty ◽  
Jonathon Snook

BackgroundFaecal occult blood (FOB) positivity and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) are common manifestations of colorectal cancer (CRC) and both potentially facilitate diagnosis at an earlier, more treatable stage. It has been assumed that both are the consequence of low-grade blood loss from the tumour bed.MethodA retrospective analysis of 1121 cases of CRC diagnosed at a single centre between 2010 and 2016, comparing cases presenting via FOB-based Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) and IDA pathways for a series of variables including age, sex, tumour location and prevalence of anaemia.ResultsThe BCSP and IDA pathways each accounted for about 15% of the total case load. There were significant differences between the BCSP and IDA sub-groups in median age (68 vs 78 years: p<0.001), median haemoglobin (138 vs 89 g/L: p<0.001) and proportion of lesions in right colon (31.1% vs 82.5%: p<0.001). The major disparity in the prevalence of anaemia (overall 20.0% vs 98.2%: p<0.001) persisted when controlled for tumour location.ConclusionParadoxically, CRC screening through the detection of FOB positivity and IDA identifies distinctly different sub-populations of cases. The theoretical implication is that an additional mechanism may be required to explain the development of IDA in CRC. The practical implication is that detection of IDA may have a complementary role to the BCSP in population screening for CRC.

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley D. Bond ◽  
Michael D. Burkitt ◽  
David Sawbridge ◽  
Bernard M. Corfe ◽  
Chris S. Probert

Background & Aims: Colorectal cancer screening programmes that target detection and excision of adenomatous colonic polyps have been shown to reduce colorectal cancer related mortality. Many screening programmes include an initial faecal occult blood test (FOBt) prior to colonoscopy. To refine the selection of patients for colonoscopy other faecal-based diagnostic tools have been proposed, including tumour M2-pyruvate kinase (tM2-PK). To determine whether tM2-PK quantification may have a role in diverse settings we have assessed the assay in a cohort of patients derived from both the England bowel cancer screening programme (BCSP) and symptomatic individuals presenting to secondary care. Method. Patients undergoing colonoscopy provided faecal samples prior to bowel preparation. Faecal tM2-PK concentrations were measured by ELISA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and ROC analyses were calculated. Results. Ninety-six patients returned faecal samples: 50 of these with adenomas and 7 with cancer. Median age was 68. Median faecal tM2-PK concentration was 3.8 U/mL for individuals without neoplastic findings at colonoscopy, 7.7 U/mL in those with adenomas and 24.4 U/mL in subjects with colorectal cancer (both, p=0.01). ROC analysis demonstrated an AUROC of 0.66 (sensitivity 72.4%, specificity 48.7%, positive predictive value 67.7%, negative predictive value 36.7%). Amongst BCSP patients with a prior positive FOBt faecal tM2-PK was more abundant (median 6.4 U/mL, p=0.03) and its diagnostic accuracy was greater (AUROC 0.82). Conclusion. Our findings confirm that faecal tM2-PK ELISA may have utility as an adjunct to FOBt in a screening context, but do not support its use in symptomatic patients. Abbreviations: BCSP: Bowel cancer screening programme; EMR: Endoscopic mucosal resection; FAP: Familial adenomatous polyposis; FOBt: Faecal occult blood testing; NHS: National Health Service; tM2-PK: tumour M2-pyruvate kinase.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolla Hamdan ◽  
Jessie Johnson ◽  
Maryam Fatemi ◽  
Kathleen Benjamin ◽  
Afrah Moosa

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Bowel cancer screening helps prevent colon cancer by early detection of polyps, leading to efficient treatment and reduced mortality. Within Qatar, primary health facilities promote bowel screening by using the faecal occult blood test. However, the popularity and use of this test is still low. Aim: The aim of this literature review is to explore barriers related to colorectal cancer bowel screening using the faecal occult blood test in primary health care settings to facilitate colorectal cancer screening in Qatar. Method: Cronin’s five step framework for literature reviews was utilized for this paper. This review included nine articles that were peer-reviewed and published between 2009 and 2019. The nine articles were appraised by using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. This tool has separate criteria to assess the quality of the qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies. Result: Three main barriers to bowel cancer screening included knowledge deficit, personal beliefs and organizational barriers. Conclusion: The main barriers are related to the patients’ lack of knowledge and personal beliefs. Overcoming these barriers is essential to raising awareness about this issue among all nurses, physicians, and patients. It is necessary to involve stakeholders in order to mitigate barriers. Developing educational activities for healthcare professionals will provide information that they can share with patients to encourage screening and decrease the fear of the test. Developing a pamphlet to increase patient awareness will also encourage screening and work toward decreasing fear. Key words: faecal occult blood test, faecal immunochemical test, barriers


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e017186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Murphy ◽  
Stephen Halloran ◽  
Alastair Gray

ObjectivesThrough the National Health Service (NHS) Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP), men and women in England aged between 60 and 74 years are invited for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening every 2 years using the guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT). The aim of this analysis was to estimate the cost–utility of the faecal immunochemical test for haemoglobin (FIT) compared with gFOBT for a cohort beginning screening aged 60 years at a range of FIT positivity thresholds.DesignWe constructed a cohort-based Markov state transition model of CRC disease progression and screening. Screening uptake, detection, adverse event, mortality and cost data were taken from BCSP data and national sources, including a recent large pilot study of FIT screening in the BCSP.ResultsOur results suggest that FIT is cost-effective compared with gFOBT at all thresholds, resulting in cost savings and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained over a lifetime time horizon. FIT was cost-saving (p<0.001) and resulted in QALY gains of 0.014 (95% CI 0.012 to 0.017) at the base case threshold of 180 µg Hb/g faeces. Greater health gains and cost savings were achieved as the FIT threshold was decreased due to savings in cancer management costs. However, at lower thresholds, FIT was also associated with more colonoscopies (increasing from 32 additional colonoscopies per 1000 people invited for screening for FIT 180 µg Hb/g faeces to 421 additional colonoscopies per 1000 people invited for screening for FIT 20 µg Hb/g faeces over a 40-year time horizon). Parameter uncertainty had limited impact on the conclusions.ConclusionsThis is the first published economic analysis of FIT screening in England using data directly comparing FIT with gFOBT in the NHS BSCP. These results for a cohort starting screening aged 60 years suggest that FIT is highly cost-effective at all thresholds considered. Further modelling is needed to estimate economic outcomes for screening across all age cohorts simultaneously.


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