Management of T1 colorectal cancers detected at screening colonoscopy: A study from the French national screening programme

Summary Aim The main aim of this study was to examine the management strategies that were used and to determine the outcomes (survival and recurrence rate) of screen-detected T1-CRC. Methods Medical records from 207 patients with T1-CRC diagnosed through the French national screening programme in one district from 2003 to 2015 were analysed. The 5-year overall, CRC-specific and CRC-free survival were calculated for the whole cohort and for the 3 groups treated by endoscopic resection (ER) alone, ER followed by subsequent surgery (ERSS), and primary surgery (PS). Results Of the 207 patients, 81 (39%) underwent PS, and 126 (61%) underwent primary ER, of whom 82 (64%) underwent subsequent surgery. The 5-year overall and cancer-specific survival rates were 95.5% (95% CI, 90.8; 97.9) and 98.8% (95% CI, 95.4; 99.7%), respectively. Long-term cancer-specific mortality and recurrence crude rates were 2.4% and 5.6%, respectively. The 5-year CRC-free survival rate was 96.1% (95% CI, 91.8; 98.1%) and did not differ amongst the 3 groups (ER alone, ERSS and PS). Conclusion This study demonstrates the good prognosis of screen-detected T1-CRC, regardless of the treatment strategy used. But, there is a room to improve the screening programme quality with regard to the management of screen-detected CRC.