1. Colorectal cancer screening
- Author
-
William B. Applegate and Monroe H. Spector
- Subjects
Oncology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Health (social science) ,Screening test ,Colorectal cancer ,Diagnostic evaluation ,Asymptomatic ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,False positive paradox ,Humans ,Mass Screening ,False Positive Reactions ,Intensive care medicine ,Mass screening ,Rectal Neoplasms ,business.industry ,Data Collection ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Intestinal Polyps ,Cancer ,medicine.disease ,United States ,Colorectal cancer screening ,Occult Blood ,Colonic Neoplasms ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
The efficacy of HemoccultR screening for colorectal carcinoma is analyzed utilizing five criteria which a screening test should fulfill before it is used for mass screening. The HemoccultR screening protocol has serious weaknesses. It is at best 83% sensitive for cancer and much less sensitive for polyps. An asymptomatic person with one or more positive HemoccultR slides only has a 12% chance of having cancer. In addition, patient acceptance of mass HemoccultR screening is questionable. There is currently little information on potential survival benefits, and HemoccultR screening is expensive with one quarter of all costs incurred in the diagnostic evaluation of false positives. There is insufficient evidence to recommend HemoccultR colorectal cancer screening in asymptomatic persons as a cost-effective practice.
- Published
- 1981
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