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. 2022 Mar;71(3):561-567.
doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-322192. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Non-compliance with colonoscopy after a positive faecal immunochemical test doubles the risk of dying from colorectal cancer

Manuel Zorzi  1 , Jessica Battagello  2 , Kevin Selby  3 , Giulia Capodaglio  4 , Susanna Baracco  2 , Silvia Rizzato  2 , Enrico Chinellato  2 , Stefano Guzzinati  2 , Massimo Rugge  2   5
Affiliations

Non-compliance with colonoscopy after a positive faecal immunochemical test doubles the risk of dying from colorectal cancer

Manuel Zorzi et al. Gut. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) among subjects with a positive faecal immunochemical test (FIT) who do not undergo a colonoscopy is unknown. We estimated whether non-compliance with colonoscopy after a positive FIT is associated with increased CRC incidence and mortality.

Methods: The FIT-based CRC screening programme in the Veneto region (Italy) invited persons aged 50 to 69 years with a positive FIT (>20 µg Hb/g faeces) for diagnostic colonoscopy at an endoscopic referral centre. In this retrospective cohort study, we compared the 10-year cumulative CRC incidence and mortality among FIT positives who completed a diagnostic colonoscopy within the programme (compliers) and those who did not (non-compliers), using the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox-Aalen models.

Results: Some 88 013 patients who were FIT positive complied with colonoscopy (males: 56.1%; aged 50-59 years: 49.1%) while 23 410 did not (males: 54.6%; aged 50-59 years: 44.9%).The 10-year cumulative incidence of CRC was 44.7 per 1000 (95% CI, 43.1 to 46.3) among colonoscopy compliers and 54.3 per 1000 (95% CI, 49.9 to 58.7) in non-compliers, while the cumulative mortality for CRC was 6.8 per 1000 (95% CI, 5.9 to 7.6) and 16.0 per 1000 (95% CI, 13.1 to 18.9), respectively. The risk of dying of CRC among non-compliers was 103% higher than among compliers (adjusted HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.68 to 2.44).

Conclusion: The excess risk of CRC death among those not completing colonoscopy after a positive faecal occult blood test should prompt screening programmes to adopt effective interventions to increase compliance in this high-risk population.

Keywords: cancer prevention; colonoscopy; colorectal cancer; colorectal cancer screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cumulative incidence of CRC (per 1000) in a cohort of subjects with a positive FIT, according to compliance with follow-up colonoscopy. CRC, colorectal cancer; FIT, faecal immunochemical test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative CRC-specific mortality (per 1000) in a cohort of subjects with a positive FIT, according to compliance with follow-up colonoscopy. CRC, colorectal cancer; FIT, faecal immunochemical test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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