Fecal immunochemical test screening found to lower risk of death from colorectal cancer

Screening with fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) lowers the risk of dying from colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a study published online July 19 in JAMA Network Open.

Chyke A. Doubeni, M.D., from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, and colleagues evaluated whether FIT screening is associated with a lower risk of dying from CRC overall, as well as by cancer location and demographic group. Analysis included 1,103 people (aged 52 to 85 years) who died from colorectal adenocarcinoma between 2011 and 2017 (cases) and 9,608 controls matched (1:8) based on age, sex, health-plan membership duration, and geographic area.

The researchers found that completing one or more FIT screenings was associated with a lower risk of death from CRC (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.67) and lower risk in the left colon and rectum (aOR, 0.58). For right colon cancers, there was no significant association observed with FIT screening. The difference in the estimates between the right colon and left colon or rectum was statistically significant. The association between FIT screening and lower CRC mortality risk was seen across races (non-Hispanic Asian: aOR, 0.37; non-Hispanic Black: aOR, 0.58; non-Hispanic White: aOR, 0.70).

“This study provides U.S. community-based evidence that suggests FIT screening lowers the risk of dying from colorectal cancer and supports the strategy of population-based screening using FIT,” the authors write.

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