At-home colon screening test can cut risk of cancer death by 33 percent
CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 5, 2024 – Using one of those home screening kits could lower your risk of colorectal cancer death by 33 percent according to a new study published in the July 19, 2024 JAMA Network Open, a journal of the American Medical Association.
The study involved 10,711 people completing fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) by collecting a stool sample at home and sending it to a laboratory for analysis.
“The evidence shows that FIT done every year is as good as getting a colonoscopy every 10 years for screening people of average risk," said Chyke Doubeni, MD, MPH, senior author of the study in a press release. "This study should give individuals and their clinicians the confidence to use this noninvasive test for screening and find ways to deploy these tests in underserved communities where colorectal cancer screening rates are very low,”
Conducted by researchers at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Kaiser Permanence, the study analyzed data from 10,711 Kaiser patients from California who underwent at-home FIT tests between 2002 and 2017. Among these were 1103 cases of colorectal cancer and 9608 people who did not have cancer.
During the 5-year period, 494 cancer cases (44.8 percent) and 5345 noncancer controls (55.6 percent) completed 1 or more FITs. The analysis showed that completing 1 or more FIT screening was associated with a 33 percent lower risk of death from CRC. The researchers also observed a 42 percent lower risk of colorectal cancers occurring on the left side of colon including rectal cancers.
The data also showed lower risk of colorectal cancers and deaths among non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White people.
“This study, of at least one FIT screening in the last few years, confirms this method is an effective tool," Douglas Corley, MD, PhD, and co-principal investigator said in a press release. "It can be performed at home, and we anticipate that regular, annual use, as recommended, can result in even larger reductions in cancer deaths over time. In our setting, providing multiple methods for cancer screening has increased participation to over 80 percent, which has been associated with approximately a 50 percent reduction in colorectal cancer deaths.”
Kaiser Permanente has been a leader in implementing the test as a part of its at-home screening program.
The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Source: Ohio State University press release and JAMA Open Network
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