Participation in National Screening for Colon Cancer Declining Despite Life-Saving Effect
Despite the fact that around 1800 people lose their lives to colorectal cancer annually, there is a downward trend in participation in the national screening for colon cancer. This screening, introduced in 2014, involves submitting stool samples for examination at hospitals with the aim of reducing the number of colon cancer cases and saving lives. However, never more than 60 percent of those invited have participated, and new figures show that participation is now declining further.
The screening plays a crucial role in detecting colon cancer patients at an early stage, where survival is significantly better, and treatment can often be less invasive. Yet, participation among first-time invitees has dropped by four percentage points in just one year. Individuals in the 50-74 age group are offered the screening every two years. If there is invisible blood in the submitted home test, one is called in for a colonoscopy, a endoscopic examination of the colon and rectum. In 2022, 19,228 citizens were called in for a colonoscopy based on the screening program. Among these, cancer was found in one out of every 27 persons who underwent the examination.
In total, the national colon cancer screening program identified 714 people with colon cancer and 5 cases of rectal cancer, according to the annual report from the Danish Colorectal Screening Database in the Regions’ Clinical Quality Development Program (RKKP). Morten Rasmussen, Chairman of the Danish Colorectal Screening Database and Head of the Colon Cancer Screening in the Capital Region, expresses concern over the declining participation. “These are 719 cases of cancer that we would not have found so early without screening,” says Rasmussen. “This typically gives us the opportunity to remove the cancer through surgery without subsequent chemotherapy.”
Since 2014, the national screening program has contributed to improved survival, according to the Danish Colorectal Cancer Database. The age-adjusted mortality rate for colon and rectal cancer has nearly halved, but there is still a significant challenge in getting more people to participate in the screening. Approximately 4000 Danes are diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer annually. Approximately 1800 die annually from the two diseases. Therefore, Morten Rasmussen is also disappointed that support for the screening is declining. “We are about ten percent lower in participation compared to the best countries like the Netherlands. If we caught as many as them, we would find more at an earlier stage and could treat them less aggressively and more affordably,” he says.