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Annals of Oncology 13:31-34, 2002
© 2002 European Society for Medical Oncology

Debate

Fecal occult blood screening for colorectal cancer: open issues

C. La Vecchia,+

Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, & Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

Received 9 August 2001; accepted 10 October 2001.

Abstract

Data from seven case–control and—mainly—three randomized clinical trials consistently indicate that biennial fecal occult blood screening (FOBT) can reduce colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality by ~20% after 10–18 years. The reduction may be greater in compliant subjects. In the long-term, incidence also appears to be reduced. There are suggestions that the effect of annual screening may be greater, although data are inadequate to quantify the potential advantages of annual versus biennial screening. The issue of the effectiveness of FOBT in the general population and, more important, of comparative cost-effectiveness with other possible screening tests for CRC, however, remain open to discussion.

Key words: colorectal cancer, fecal occult blood tests, screening


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P. Boyle
Faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) as screening for colorectal cancer: the current controversy
Ann. Onc., January 19, 2002; 13(1): 16 - 18.
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