Colorectal cancer after a negative Haemoccult II test and programme sensitivity after a first round of screening: the experience of the Department of Calvados (France).
Colorectal cancers emerging after a negative Haemoccult II are described in the context of a first round of mass screening in the Department of Calvados (France), from April 1991 to the end of December 1994. People with a cancer occurring after a negative test until 31 December 1995 were identified by a local cancer registry. Incidence was calculated and the programme sensitivity was estimated. The incidence of cancer emerging after a negative test was 57.7 per 100000, i.e. half of the calculated incidence in the reference group (141.6 per 100000). These cancers did not differ from those of either the non-responder or reference groups, in particular for the stage of extension. The programme sensitivity was globally higher than that estimated in European trials: 77.2, 66.3 and 55.9%, 1, 2 and 3 years after the test respectively. Programme sensitivity was higher for distal colon cancer 1 year after the test, which is probably due to the relatively slow growth of this subsite.
Bouvier
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Registre des Tumeurs Digestives du Calvados, CJF INSERM 96-03, Faculté de Médecine, Caen, France.
Launoy
G
G
Herbert
C
C
Lefevre
H
H
Maurel
J
J
Gignoux
M
M
D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity