Fact Sheet

March 14, 2003

Colorectal Cancer Screening

• Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death for men and women. In 2003, there will be an estimated 147,500 new cases and 57,100 deaths from colorectal cancer. Of those diagnosed, 93 percent are aged 50 and older.
  
   
• Screening can find colorectal cancer in earlier stages when it can be treated more successfully. It can also identify pre-cancerous polyps so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer.
  
   
• In 2001, of the 87,729 men and women aged 50 and older who responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) national telephone survey, 44.6 percent reported ever having had a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), and 47.3 percent of respondents reported ever having had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.
  
  
  
• For the same year, respondents also reported whether they had received tests within the recommended time intervals:
  • 23.5 percent reported having had an FOBT within the previous year
  • 43.4 percent reported having had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the previous 10 years
  • 53.1 percent reported having had either an FOBT within the previous year and/or a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the previous 10 years.
    
     
• These rates are slightly higher than in previous years. In comparison, in 1997, 19.4 percent reported FOBT within 1 year and 29.9 percent reported sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within 10 years. In 1999, 20.4 percent reported FOBT within one year and 33.3 percent reported sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within 10 years.
  
  
  
• Screening rates varied widely by state. The proportion of people aged 50 and older who reported having had either FOBT within the previous year or sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the previous 10 years ranged from 29.6 percent in Puerto Rico to 65.4 percent in the District of Columbia.
  
   
• All men and women aged 50 and older are encouraged to be screened for colorectal cancer. Medicare has expanded coverage for screening colonoscopy in addition to the previously covered FOBT and sigmoidoscopy.
  
   
• The CDC and its partners are actively promoting widespread colorectal cancer screening with the Screen for Life: A National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/screenforlife), which encourages people aged 50 or older to speak with their doctor about colorectal cancer and select the appropriate screening test(s).

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This page last updated March 14, 2003
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