scholarly journals Prioritisation of colonoscopy services in colorectal cancer screening programmes to minimise impact of COVID-19 pandemic on predicted cancer burden: A comparative modelling study

2021 ◽  
pp. 096914132110567
Author(s):  
Francine van Wifferen ◽  
Lucie de Jonge ◽  
Joachim Worthington ◽  
Marjolein J.E. Greuter ◽  
Jie-Bin Lew ◽  
...  

Objectives Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) has been disrupted in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Performing catch-up of missed screens while maintaining regular screening services requires additional colonoscopy capacity that may not be available. This study aimed to compare strategies that clear the screening backlog using limited colonoscopy resources. Methods A range of strategies were simulated using four country-specific CRC natural-history models: Adenoma and Serrated pathway to Colorectal CAncer (ASCCA) and MIcrosimulation SCreening ANalysis for CRC (MISCAN-Colon) (both in the Netherlands), Policy1-Bowel (Australia) and OncoSim (Canada). Strategies assumed a 3-month screening disruption with varying recovery period lengths (6, 12, and 24 months) and varying FIT thresholds for diagnostic colonoscopy. Increasing the FIT threshold reduces the number of referrals to diagnostic colonoscopy. Outcomes for each strategy were colonoscopy demand and excess CRC-related deaths due to the disruption. Results Performing catch-up using the regular FIT threshold in 6, 12 and 24 months could prevent most excess CRC-related deaths, but required 50%, 25% and 12.5% additional colonoscopy demand, respectively. Without exceeding usual colonoscopy demand, up to 60% of excess CRC-related deaths can be prevented by increasing the FIT threshold for 12 or 24 months. Large increases in FIT threshold could lead to additional deaths rather than preventing them. Conclusions Clearing the screening backlog in 24 months could avert most excess CRC-related deaths due to a 3-month disruption but would require a small increase in colonoscopy demand. Increasing the FIT threshold slightly over 24 months could ease the pressure on colonoscopy resources.

2021 ◽  
pp. 096914132199748
Author(s):  
Andrew Wang ◽  
Briton Lee ◽  
Shreya Patel ◽  
Evans Whitaker ◽  
Rachel B Issaka ◽  
...  

Objective Digital health care offers an opportunity to scale and personalize cancer screening programs, such as mailed outreach for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. However, studies that describe the patient selection strategy and process for CRC screening are limited. Our objective was to evaluate implementation strategies for selecting patients for CRC screening programs in large health care systems. Methods We conducted a systematic review of 30 studies along with key informant surveys and interviews to describe programmatic implementation strategies for selecting patients for CRC screening. PubMed and Embase were searched since inception through December 2018, and hand searches were performed of the retrieved reference lists but none were incorporated ( n = 0). No language exclusions were applied. Results Common criteria for outreach exclusion included: being up-to-date with routine CRC screening ( n = 22), comorbidities ( n = 20), and personal history ( n = 22) or family history of cancer ( n = 9). Key informant surveys and interviews were performed ( n = 28) to understand data sources and practices for patient outreach selection, and found that 13 studies leveraged electronic medical care records, 10 studies leveraged a population registry (national, municipal, community, health), 4 studies required patient opt-in, and 1 study required primary care provider referral. Broad ranges in fecal immunochemical test completion were observed in community clinic ( n = 8, 31.0–59.6%), integrated health system ( n = 5, 21.2–82.7%), and national regional CRC screening programs ( n = 17, 23.0–64.7%). Six studies used technical codes, and four studies required patient self-reporting from a questionnaire to participate. Conclusion This systematic review provides health systems with the diverse outreach practices and technical tools to support efforts to automate patient selection for CRC screening outreach.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089011712110644
Author(s):  
Jocelyn V. Wainwright ◽  
Shivan J. Mehta ◽  
Alicia Clifton ◽  
Claire Bocage ◽  
Shannon N. Ogden ◽  
...  

Purpose To understand patient experiences and persistent barriers to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening amid centralized outreach at urban family medicine practices. Approach Following a pragmatic trial assessing mailed fecal immunochemical test (FIT) outreach, we invited a subset of participants to complete a semi-structured qualitative interview and structured questionnaire. Setting Single urban academic healthcare system. Participants Sixty patients who were eligible and overdue for CRC screening at the time of trial enrollment. Method Using Andersen’s Behavioral Model, we developed an interview guide to systematically assess factors shaping screening decisions and FIT uptake. Close-ended responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results Most participants (82%) self-reported that they had ever completed any modality of CRC screening, and nearly half (43%) completed the mailed FIT during the trial. Most patients (60%) preferred FIT to colonoscopy due to its private, convenient, and non-invasive nature; however, persistent barriers related to screening beliefs including fear of test results and cancer treatment still prevented some patients from completing any form of CRC screening. Conclusions Mailed FIT can overcome many structural barriers to CRC screening, yet clear communication and follow-up amid centralized outreach are essential. For some patients, tailored outreach or navigation to address screening-related fears or other screening beliefs may be needed to ensure timely completion of CRC screening.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (7) ◽  
pp. 1067-1072

Background: Presently, the level of participation in screening programs for colorectal cancer (CRC) with Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is considerably low. Objective: To investigate factors associated with participation in CRC screening using a FIT in the Thai population age 45 to 74 years in the Namphong District of Khon Kaen Province. Materials and Methods: In the present study, the unmatched case-control study design was applied. Three hundred ten participants were equally divided into two groups with 155 participants in the study group and the other 155 in the control group. The data were collected by conducting interviews. Moreover, to explain the association between the factors, multiple logistic regressions were used with adjusted odds ratio (ORadj), a confidence level at 95%, and with p<0.05. Results: It was found that ages were equal to or higher than 60 years (ORadj 2.08; 95%CI 1.19 to 3.63), the lower education level (ORadj 3.70; 95% CI 1.86 to 7.33), a family history of cancer (ORadj 5.25; 95% CI 2.14 to 12.86), receiving advice from public health officials regarding CRC screening (ORadj 3.09; 95% CI 1.81 to 5.27), and high level of knowledge about CRC (ORadj 4.01; 95% CI 2.09 to 7.69) had all been related to participation in the CRC screening program with a statistical significance (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results revealed that receiving advice from public health officials regarding CRC screening and that proper knowledge had been related to participation in screening programs for CRC with the FIT. Thus, to raise awareness and create a greater understanding, public health officers should disseminate knowledge about CRC. Information about the colorectal screening with the FIT should especially be spread to those people who are younger than 60 years of age, have educational levels higher than the primary level, and to those, who have no family history of CRC. Keywords: Colorectal Cancer Screening; Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT); Thai population


2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (6) ◽  
pp. S-1180-S-1181
Author(s):  
Temitayo Gboluaje ◽  
Martha Gwengi ◽  
Titi Olanipekun ◽  
Taiwo A. Ajose ◽  
Krystal Mills ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0250460
Author(s):  
Tian Zhi Lim ◽  
Jerrald Lau ◽  
Gretel Jianlin Wong ◽  
Ker-Kan Tan

Background Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) using the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is widely advocated. Few studies have compared the rate of detecting colonoscopic pathologies in single compared to double FIT-positive follow-up colonoscopy-compliant individuals in a two-sample national FIT screening program. Objective To compare CRC incidence in double FIT-positive versus single FIT-positive individuals using a retrospective cohort of patients from a tertiary hospital in Singapore. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Data was extracted from one public tertiary hospital in Singapore. Participants 1,422 FIT-positive individuals from the national FIT screening program who were referred to the hospital from 1st January 2017 to 31st March 2020 for follow-up consultation and diagnostic colonoscopy. Measurements The exposure of interest was a positive result on both FIT kits. The main outcome was a follow-up diagnostic colonoscopy finding of CRC. The secondary outcome was a diagnostic colonoscopy finding of a colorectal polyp. Results Incidence density of CRC was 1.15 and 13.10 per 100,000 person-months, in the single and double FIT-positive group, respectively. This resulted in an incidence rate ratio of 11.40 (95% CI = 4.34, 35.09). Colorectal polyp detection was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the double (103 of 173 participants; 59.5%) compared to the single (279 of 671 participants; 41.6%) FIT-positive group. Limitations The key limitation of this study was the relatively small cohort derived from a single tertiary hospital, as this had the effect of limiting the number of incident cases, resulting in comparatively imprecise CIs. Conclusions Double FIT-positive individuals are significantly more likely to have a colonoscopy finding of incident CRC or premalignant polyp than single FIT-positive individuals. Clinicians and policymakers should consider updating their CRC screening protocols accordingly.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1165
Author(s):  
Kristýna Mezerová ◽  
Lubomír Starý ◽  
Pavel Zbořil ◽  
Ivo Klementa ◽  
Martin Stašek ◽  
...  

The frequent occurrence of E. coli positive for cyclomodulins such as colibactin (CLB), the cytotoxic necrotizing factor (CNF), and the cytolethal distending factor (CDT) in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients published so far provides the opportunity to use them as CRC screening markers. We examined the practicability and performance of a low-cost detection approach that relied on culture followed by simplified DNA extraction and PCR in E. coli isolates recovered from 130 CRC patients and 111 controls. Our results showed a statistically significant association between CRC and the presence of colibactin genes clbB and clbN, the cnf gene, and newly, the hemolytic phenotype of E. coli isolates. We also observed a significant increase in the mean number of morphologically distinct E. coli isolates per patient in the CRC cohort compared to controls, indicating that the cyclomodulin-producing E. coli strains may represent potentially preventable harmful newcomers in CRC patients. A colibactin gene assay showed the highest detection rate (45.4%), and males would benefit from the screening more than females. However, because of the high number of false positives, practical use of this marker must be explored. In our opinion, it may serve as an auxiliary marker to increase the specificity and/or sensitivity of the well-established fecal immunochemical test (FIT) in CRC screening.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ru-chen Zhou ◽  
Pei-zhu Wang ◽  
Yue-yue Li ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Ming-jun Ma ◽  
...  

Objective: The diagnostic efficiency of the quantitative fecal immunochemical test (qFIT) has large variations in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. We aimed to explore whether the practical sample collection operant training could improve the diagnostic accuracy of the qFIT in CRC screening.Methods: Moderate-/high-risk individuals aged 50–75 years old were invited to participate in a prospective observational study between July 2020 and March 2021. Participants took a qFIT sample without fecal sample collection operant training in advance and then completed another qFIT sample after the operant training. The primary outcome was the sensitivity and specificity of the qFITs for CRC and advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACRN). The secondary outcome was the difference in the area under the curves (AUCs) and the concentrations of the fecal hemoglobin (Hb) between the qFIT without and after the operant training.Results: Out of 913 patients, 81 (8.9%) patients had ACRN, including 25 (2.7%) patients with CRC. For CRC, the sensitivities of the qFIT without and after the operant training at 10 μg/g were 80.4 and 100.0%, respectively, and the specificities were 90.1 and 88.4%, respectively. For ACRN, the sensitivities were 49.4 and 69.1% and the specificities were 91.7 and 91.3%, respectively. The AUC of the qFIT after the operant training was significantly higher than that without the operant training for CRC (p = 0.027) and ACRN (p = 0.001). After the operant training, the concentration of the fecal Hb was significantly higher than that without the operant training (p = 0.009) for ACRN, but there was no significant difference for CRC (p = 0.367).Conclusion: Practical sample collection operant training improves the diagnostic accuracy of the qFIT, which increases the detection of the low concentrations of fecal Hb. Improving the quality of the sample collection could contribute to the diagnostic efficiency of the qFIT in CRC screening.


2020 ◽  
pp. 525-531
Author(s):  
Elizabeth O. Labaeka ◽  
Achiaka E. Irabor ◽  
David O. Irabor

PURPOSE Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a disease of public health importance because of the increasing incidence of the disease and presentation in advanced stage of the disease in Western Africa. CRC is amenable to screening because of the long course of premalignant lesions before final development of the disease. Despite this, the practice of CRC screening is inadequate at the sites in this study. The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is one of the recommended noninvasive methods for CRC screening. It has a sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 90%, and an overall accuracy of 95%. We aimed to determine the practicability of FIT for CRC screening in patients aged 40 to 75 years who attended primary care clinics in the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 422 patients selected by systematic random sampling were recruited and offered free FIT screening. Participants with a positive finding had additional GI examination, including a digital rectal examination, proctoscopy, and colonoscopy, if no lesion was biopsied during proctoscopy. RESULTS The mean (± standard deviation) age of the respondents was 62 ± 9.61 years. The prevalence of a positive FIT in the study was 10.1%. The FIT was not completed by 3.8% of patients, and the rate of completion of additional evaluation after a positive FIT reduced as the investigations became invasive, with 36.8% and 71.1% noncompletion rates for proctoscopy and colonoscopy, respectively. CONCLUSION A FIT-based screening for age and risk-appropriate patients is practical in this environment, where the capacity and acceptability of colonoscopy are limited.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clasine M de Klerk ◽  
Manon van der Vlugt ◽  
Patrick M Bossuyt ◽  
Evelien Dekker

Background Symptomatic invitees are advised not to participate in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening but to directly consult their general practitioner (GP), because fecal immunochemical test (FIT) sensitivity for cancer is not optimal. This recommendation may not always be followed in daily practice. We evaluated how many FIT-positive participants had CRC-related symptoms and whether the presence of symptoms was associated with the presence and location of CRC/advanced neoplasia. Methods We prospectively collected data on CRC-related symptoms in all FIT-positive participants in the Dutch CRC screening program, referred to our endoscopy centers between 2014 and 2016, and evaluated whether symptoms were associated with detected CRC/advanced neoplasia at colonoscopy. Results Of 527 FIT-positive participants, 314 had advanced neoplasia, of which 41 had CRC. Overall, 246 (47%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42–0.51) reported CRC-related symptoms. A change in bowel habits (odds ratio (OR) 2.86, CI 1.23–6.62) and visible blood in stool (OR 8.65, CI 2.34–32.0) were associated with the detection of CRC at colonoscopy. We did not observe significant associations between evaluated symptoms and advanced neoplasia. Conclusions A large proportion of FIT-positive screening participants have CRC-related symptoms. This suggests that current instructions do not retain symptomatic screening invitees from participation and awareness of CRC-related symptoms is inadequate.


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