Colorectal Cancer Screening: The Next Two Years

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world, accounting for 9.7% of all cancers other than nonmelanoma skin cancers [1]. In 2012, 1.4 million new cases were diagnosed [2]. Recommended screening guidelines have shown the potential to prevent cancer by detecting precancerous polyps or cancer at an early stage when treatment is the most successful [3]. The most common strategies for screening are flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years, colonoscopy every ten years, and fecal tests annually [3]. The availability of effective CRC screening notwithstanding, screening remains underutilized [4-6]. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Klabunde et al. [7] reported the percent of the U.S. population upto-date with recommended CRC screening was 65% in 2012, which shows an increase from previous years, but remains inadequate. Other developed countries suffer inadequate CRC screening as well. For example, Canadian data from 2011 shows that only 43% of individuals are up to date on CRC screening in that country [8]. Internationally, most Asian countries lack any kind of CRC initiative, and information regarding CRC screening initiatives in South America and Africa is scarce [9].