First report on screening an asymptomatic population for cancer: The yield of an integrated cancer prevention center.

1564 Background: Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Screening is a key strategy for reducing cancer morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the utility of cancer screening in an asymptomatic population at an integrated cancer prevention center. Methods: One-thousand consecutive asymptomatic, apparently healthy adults, aged 20-80 years, were screened for early detection of 11 common cancers by routine screening tests. Results: Malignant and benign lesions were found in 2.4% and 7.1% of the screenees, respectively. The most common malignant lesions were in the gastrointestinal tract and breast followed by gynecological and skin. The compliance rate for the different screening procedures was considerably higher than the general Israeli population – 78% compared to 60% for mammography (p<0.001) and 39% compared to 16% for colonoscopy (p<0.001). Advanced age, family history and certain lifestyle parameters were associated with increased risk for cancer. Moreover, polymorphisms in the APC a...