A study published in Gastroenterology examined colorectal cancer screening inadequacies, finding patients should stay up-to-date on screening and follow-up about abnormal results to prevent death.
Researchers performed a retrospective cohort study of 1,750 California-based Kaiser Permanente patients who died from CRC between 2006 and 2012. The researchers compared that patient base to 3,486 cancer-free patients from the same system.
Here's what you should know:
1. About 75.9 percent of deaths occurred among patients who were behind on their screenings, while 24.1 percent of deaths were among patients who were up to date.
2. Patients who visited their primary care providers less often were less likely to undergo screenings.
3. Among cancer-free patients, 44.6 percent were up to date with their screening. Those patients had a reduced risk of CRC death.
4. About 8 percent of patients who died from CRC failed to follow up on abnormal results , compared to 2.2 percent of cancer-free patients who failed to do so.
Researchers concluded, "Being up to date on screening substantially reduces risk of CRC death. In two healthcare systems with high rates of screening, most people who died from CRC had failures in the screening process that could be rectified, such as failure to follow up on abnormal findings; these significantly increased risk for CRC death."