Does the location of screen-detected cancers differ from that seen in the unscreened population?
OBJECTIVE
It is important that screening detects cancers regardless of their location within the colon. The aim of this study was to see if the location of cancers detected by the pilot screening programme differs from that of unscreened cancers.


METHODS
The colorectal cancer dataset of University Hospital Coventry was analysed retrospectively. A 7-year period was used to include all three rounds of the pilot screening. Two groups of patients were selected, those with colorectal cancers detected by the screening programme and those detected outside of screening. The tumour location was compared in the two groups statistically (chi-squared test).


RESULTS
One thousand four hundred-ninety patients were included, 100 of whom were in the screened population and 1390 were in the unscreened population. There was no significant difference in tumour location between the two groups (P = 0.49).


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that screen-detected cancers do not differ in their location from unscreened cancers and suggests that faecal occult blood testscreening detects cancer irrespective of location within the colon.
Harmston
C
C
University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry, UK. chris@harmston.freeserve.co.uk
Hunter
J
J
Wong
L
L