Estimating Sensitivity of Hemoccult Test in Colorectal Cancer Screening
Author Information
Author(s): Jouve J L, Remontet L, Dancourt V, Lejeune C, Benhamiche A M, Faivre J, Esteve J
Primary Institution: Burgundy Digestive Tract Cancer Registry (INSERM CRI 9605), Faculty of Medicine, Dijon, France
Hypothesis
The study aimed to estimate the sensitivity of the Hemoccult test and the mean sojourn time from colorectal mass-screening program data.
Conclusion
The sensitivity of the Hemoccult test is relatively low, and the short sojourn time suggests that annual screening may be more beneficial.
Supporting Evidence
- The study involved 45,603 individuals aged 45–74 years.
- The sensitivity of the Hemoccult test was estimated at 0.57.
- The mean sojourn time was estimated at 2.56 years.
- The product of sensitivity and mean sojourn time was higher for males than females.
Takeaway
This study looked at how well a test called Hemoccult can find colorectal cancer, and it found that the test doesn't work very well, so checking more often might help catch cancer earlier.
Methodology
The study analyzed data from 6 biennial screening rounds performed from 1988 to 1998 on individuals aged 45–74 years.
Participant Demographics
Individuals aged 45–74 years from Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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