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. 2019 Jan 10;19(1):47.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-018-5191-y.

Effects of subitems in the colorectal cancer screening protocol on the Chinese colorectal cancer screening program: an analysis based on natural community screening results

Shan-Rong Cai  1 , Yan-Qin Huang  1 , Su-Zhan Zhang  1 , Qi-Rong Li  2 , Xin Yuan Ma  2 , Shu Zheng  3
Affiliations

Effects of subitems in the colorectal cancer screening protocol on the Chinese colorectal cancer screening program: an analysis based on natural community screening results

Shan-Rong Cai et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: To date, no single colorectal cancer (CRC) screening strategy has been determined to be applicable worldwide. In China, a CRC screening protocol that combines double fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) and a high-risk factor questionnaire (HRFQ) as the first stage of screening and colonoscopy as the second stage of screening (scenario A) was adapted by the Chinese Ministry of Health in 2006. However, applying this CRC screening protocol nationally remains difficult because its effectiveness and convenience are controversial. This study evaluated the effects of subitems of the CRC screening protocol in China.

Methods: CRC screening results (scenario A) from Jiashan County, China, (2007-2009) were used to analyze the detection rates of CRC and advanced neoplasms as well as the cost-effectiveness of the protocol. Scenario A was divided into scenarios B-G (by selecting some items at the first stage of screening) for analysis.

Results: Compared with scenario A, removing the whole HRFQ (scenario F) reduced advanced neoplasm and adenoma detections by 29.8 and 41.2%, respectively, whereas the whole HRFQ accounted for 10.1% of the total screening cost. Removing FITs (scenario G) reduced CRC, advanced neoplasm and adenoma detections by 71.8, 56.9 and 47.7%, respectively, and the costs per case of CRC and advanced neoplasm were 82.0 and 19.1% higher, respectively, than those in scenario A. In scenarios B-E (deleting some high-risk factor questions on the HRFQ), the odds ratios (ORs) of the detection rates and costs per CRC, advanced neoplasm, adenoma, and neoplasm case were near 1.00. Scenarios C and D reduced the high-risk population and total screening costs by less than 6.0 and 4.1%, respectively. Scenarios E and B (FITs and a personal history of cancer or colorectal adenoma were reserved) reduced the high-risk population by 17.6 and 24.2% and the total screening costs by 11.2 and 15.4%, respectively, while the numbers of CRC cases were not missed, and advanced neoplasms detected decreased by only 5 and 11%, respectively.

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that FITs and a personal history of colorectal adenoma are the most effective items in the Chinese CRC screening protocol.

Keywords: Advanced neoplasm; Colorectal cancer; Cost-effectiveness analysis; Screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the ethics committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University in 2006.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Detection rate ratios of various colorectal neoplasms in the high-risk population using different screening protocols
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Detection rate ratios of various colorectal neoplasms in participants that completed the colonoscopy using different screening protocols
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Cost ratios of various colorectal neoplasms using different CRC screening protocols
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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