A screening program may be able to successfully maximize colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates, according to a recent study published online ahead of print in Cancer.1

Steven Itzkowitz, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY, and fellow researchers formed a coalition among stakeholders of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 2003 with a primary focus on colonoscopy in order to increase screening rates and ensure equal access with respect to race/ethnicity.

They found that the program was able to increase colonoscopy rates from 42% in 2003 to 62% in 2007, then 70% in 2014 after eliminating racial and ethnic disparities.

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“The authors hope that by sharing the many elements involved and the lessons learned, they may help other communities to adapt these experiences to their own environments so that CRC screening rates can be maximized,” they noted.

Reference

  1. Itzkowitz SH, WInawer SJ, Krauskopf M, et al. New York Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition: a public health effort to increase colon cancer screening and address health disparities [published online ahead of print November 23, 2015]. Cancer. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29595.

Topics:

Colorectal Cancer Gastrointestinal Cancer