Delaying follow-up colonoscopy for up to 10 months after a positive fecal immunochemical test is not associated with a significantly increased risk for colorectal cancer and more advanced disease, US study data show.

The study findings are consistent with those previously reported by medwireNews [SN1]  , and Chen and team conclude that they further current knowledge by revealing “that the screening deficit was larger for breast and colorectal cancers, which require procedures (commonly, mammography and colonoscopy), compared with prostate cancer screening, which commonly involves a blood test (ie, prostate-specific antigen testing).”

Using data from the Massachusetts General Brigham healthcare system, the researchers found that 15,453 individuals underwent one of five screening tests – namely low-dose CT, Papanicolaou test, colonoscopy, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, and mammography – during the first peak of the pandemic in March 2–June 2, 2020, with diagnosis of cancerous or precancerous lesions in 1985 cases.

We cover three studies of colorectal cancer surveillance, one evaluating the relationship between adenomas at colonoscopy and the long-term incidence of cancer, while the other two investigate whether higher-intensity post-surgery follow-up improves outcomes.

If the diarrhea persists and the etiology is unclear, HCPs should consider colonoscopy.

The screening process was completed within 3 years by 38.4% of the colonoscopy outreach group, who underwent one procedure, and by 28.0% of the FIT outreach group, who either completed three annual screenings with a negative result or underwent diagnostic colonoscopy after an abnormal result.

Their results are based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 studies that compared the diagnostic performance of FIT with colonoscopy or follow-up.

However, they found that the large majority (83%) contained ambiguous recommendations, that is, ones that were neither for nor against a particular mode of surveillance, be it history and physical examinations, tumor markers, diagnostic procedures (eg, colonoscopy), or imaging.

They believe it could be “a useful, non-invasive screening test”, with the diagnosis confirmed by colonoscopy and pathologic analysis.