Skip to main content

Centralized CRC Screening Outreach Intervention Improves Screening Rates

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 4, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 4, 2024 -- A centralized colorectal cancer (CRC) screening outreach intervention involving mailed fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) is effective for increasing screening completion and detection of advanced colorectal neoplasia, according to a study published online Nov. 25 in JAMA Network Open.

Daniel S. Reuland, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of a centralized CRC screening outreach intervention involving mailed FIT outreach and patient navigation to colonoscopy after abnormal FIT results. Patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to usual care alone (control group) or intervention (2,001 participants per group). Intervention participants received mailed screening outreach materials including an introductory letter, FIT kit packet with instructions and return postage, and two reminder letters if necessary, in addition to usual care. Navigation to facilitate follow-up colonoscopy was offered to intervention participants with positive results of mailed FIT.

The researchers found that intervention participants were more likely than controls to complete screening within six months of randomization (30.0 versus 9.7 percent). The intervention was found to be effective in all insurance types. Overall, 68.8 percent of the 48 participants with positive FIT results in the intervention arm completed follow-up colonoscopy within six months compared with 44.4 percent of 18 participants in the control arm. Advanced colorectal neoplasia was detected in 1.4 and 0.7 percent of intervention and control participants, respectively.

"We found that a centralized mailed FIT outreach intervention and patient navigation effectively increased CRC screening among diverse populations served by independent federally qualified health centers," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text

Editorial

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...

AACR: Incidence-Based Mortality Dropping for Young Women With Breast Cancer

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Incidence-based mortality (IBM) declined from 2010 to 2020 among women aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study presented...

AACR: Nonsurgical Treatment Feasible for Mismatch Repair-Deficient Tumors

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- A neoadjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade enables nonoperative management among patients with early-stage mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.