title: Colorectal cancer screening of the general population in East Asia.
abstract: In recent years, the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been increasing, and CRC has been becoming the major cause of cancer deaths in Asian countries. Therefore, an organized screening program to reduce CRC incidence and mortality is currently implemented in each country. In the present review, we summarize the current status and future perspectives of CRC screening of the general population in East Asian and South-East Asian countries. The fecal occult blood test is widely used for CRC screening in these countries, and its effectiveness in reducing CRC incidence and mortality has been demonstrated; however, the low participation rate in CRC screening programs is a problem to be solved in every country. Improvement in the public awareness of CRC and promotion of CRC screening by physicians will help to raise the participation rate and reduce the number of deaths caused by CRC. Regarding screening colonoscopy, several studies have recently demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing CRC incidence and mortality. However, at present, CRC screening colonoscopy is not adopted as a primary population-based screening tool because of staffing constraints in relation to large population sizes, increased medical costs, and potential adverse events (e.g., perforation and drug-induced anaphylaxis). Further study is required to consider colonoscopy as CRC screening that is established in Western countries.
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Center & iMEC (Institute of Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Care), Sano Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Sik
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Byeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Ministry of Health at Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Bo
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Digestive Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Martin C S
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Han-Mo
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Rungsun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rerknimitr
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Center & iMEC (Institute of Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Care), Sano Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Utsumi
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Center & iMEC (Institute of Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Care), Sano Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Santa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Center & iMEC (Institute of Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Care), Sano Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Center & iMEC (Institute of Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Care), Sano Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Mineo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iwatate
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Institute of Digestive Disease, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Institute of Digestive Disease and LKS Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003113:Colonoscopy; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005202:Asia, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Asia; colonoscopy; colorectal cancer; fecal occult blood test; screening