Earlier this month, I presented the updated colon cancer screening guidelines and commented how virtual colonoscopy may improve screening rates due to its less invasive nature than the traditional colonoscopy. My premise was that patient discomfort served as a primary deterrent to higher rates of colonoscopy use. Data from a recently published Vanderbilt study, however, beg to differ and suggest that other factors account for the inadequate rates of colon cancer screening in the United States.
The study population was derived from the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), a large research endeavor to characterize cancer trends and disparities across racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. The group comprises 51,454 patients (ages 40-79 years) collected from 48 community health centers. The exclusion criteria for this particular study included the following: race other than African-American or Caucasian; uncertainty of whether the patient has had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy; and, uncertainty of family cancer history. This left 41,830 participants, who were surveyed on personal demographics, personal history of colorectal polyps, family history of colon cancer, patterns of undergoing screening endoscopy, and last visit to a health care provider.
