Choice In Colon Cancer Screening Linked To More Regular Testing
Choice In Colon Cancer Screening Linked To More Regular Testing
Edit: Shenzhen OK Biotech Technology Co,.Ltd Date: 2015-11-13
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Choice in colon cancer screening linked to more regular testing
A faecal occult blood test kit
People may be more likely to get colorectal cancer screenings when doctors let them choose what type of test to have, a US study suggests.
Researchers focused on two widely used screenings.
One, a process known as fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), looks for blood - a possible sign of cancer - in stool samples once a year.
The other, a colonoscopy exam that snakes a tiny camera through the rectum to view the colon, searches for abnormal growths once a decade.
About 1,000 patients were divided into three groups and randomly assigned to get either FOBT or colonoscopy, or given a choice between the two options.
Over three years, 42 per cent of participants given a choice between the tests followed through with screening and 38 per cent of people assigned to get colonoscopies did so.
Just 14 per cent of the patients assigned to FOBT got the test done each year.
In the choice group, there was also a steep drop off in FOBT after the first year among people who had opted for that method.
"Fecal occult blood testing needs to be repeated every year to have the same protective effect as getting a colonoscopy every 10 years," said lead study Dr. Peter Liang of the University of Washington in Seattle.
"Allowing people to choose their screening test and using patient navigators to help them get their tests completed will increase the overall adherence to colorectal cancer screening."
To help increase the odds that patients got recommended screenings, members of the research team served as patient navigators during the first year of the study.
In this role, they described the screening process to patients, helped schedule tests, explained bowel preparations for testing and helped arrange transportation home after colonoscopies.
Study participants were identified from the San Francisco Community Health Network, a safety net public health system, and there were research team members fluent in English, Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin.
People who were homosexual, married or in serious relationships were more likely to comply with screenings, as were Chinese speakers, the study found.
Patients who were assigned to colonoscopy or chose this option were considered non-compliant if they failed to get the test within the first year of the study.
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