[Randomized population study of screening for intestinal cancer with Hemoccult-II].
The aim of the randomised study was to compare mortality rates from colorectal cancer (CRC) in persons screened with faecal occult-blood tests every two years during a 10-year period with those of unscreened similar controls. Thirty thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven persons aged 45-75 years in 1985 were allocated to screening and another 30,966 to a control group. Only participants who completed the first round with Hemoccult-II were invited for further screening. Participants with positive tests were offered colonoscopy. The primary endpoint was death from CRC. Sixty-seven percent completed the first screening round, and of these more than 90% accepted repeated screenings. During the 10 year study, 481 persons in the screening group had a diagnosis of CRC, compared with 483 unscreened controls. CRC mortality was significantly lower in the screening group (205 deaths) than in controls (249 deaths) (mortality ratio 0.82 [95% conf. lim. 0.68-0.99], p = 0.03). Our findings indicate that biennial screening by faecal occult-blood tests can reduce CRC mortality.
Kronborg
O
O
Odense Universitetshospital, kirurgisk afdeling A.
Fenger
C
C
Olsen
J
J
Jørgensen
O D
OD
Søndergaard
O
O
D000236:Adenoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D003113:Colonoscopy; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate