Declines in Colon Cancer Incidence & Mortality Highlight the Importance of Screening

American Cancer Society Emphasizes Importance of Access to Screening for Colon Cancer during National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Snellville, GA – March 12, 2008 – March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the American Cancer Society continues to encourage all Americans at average risk to begin screening starting at age 50. The fight against colon cancer has seen much progress in recent years - the 2007 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer reported that death rates from colon cancer dropped 4.9 percent per year in men and 4.5 percent per year in women between 2002 and 2004, and that incidence rates have been declining steadily over the past decade in both men and women.  These important declines can be attributed to prevention and early detection of the disease through screening, as well as increasingly effective treatment.

Despite this progress, colon cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. The American Cancer Society says 108,070 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year, 40,740 with rectal cancer; and 49,960 will die from the disease. Wider use of proven screening tests could save more than half of these lives. 

“Colon cancer is one of only a few cancers that can be prevented through screening,” said Hisa Yamaguchi, M.D., surgeon, at Emory Eastside  Medical Center. “Precancerous polyps, from which colon cancers often develop, can be identified and removed before they become cancerous.”

The American Cancer Society recommends that men and women at average risk for colon cancer begin screening at age 50, utilizing either the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT); endoscopy procedures such as a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy; or radiological imaging with double-contrast barium enema. People at increased or high risk should talk to their doctor about the appropriate screening test and schedule for them.

Colorectal cancer screening rates have recently increased, possibly due to multiple efforts to increase awareness of the importance of screening,  expansions in health care coverage for colorectal cancer screening, and the establishment of screening programs in certain states.

However, in spite of these advances, only about half of men and women age 50 and older have been screened. A recent report from the American Cancer Society shows that the uninsured are less likely to receive recommended cancer screening tests, including colon cancer screening. While nearly half (48.3 percent) of men and women ages 50 to 64 with private insurance had a recommended colorectal cancer screening test in the past 10 years, only one in five (18.8 percent) of those who lacked insurance had received recommended screening. Further efforts are clearly needed to remove financial barriers to screening and to encourage testing. 

Colorectal cancer risk increases with age, with more than 90 percent of cases diagnosed in individuals aged 50 and older. A personal or family history of the disease also increases risk. Studies indicate that men and women who are overweight are more likely to develop and die from colon cancer, and a diet high in red or processed meat is known to increase risk.

For behavior and prevention recommendations that can reduce risk of colon cancer and other cancers, go to emoryeastside.com , click “Your Health” then choose  “Cancer Indepth”.