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The first randomised proof that a yearly stool test for hidden blood saves lives from bowel cancer, by a third over thirteen years.
The Minnesota Colon Cancer Control Study randomised 46,551 volunteers aged 50 to 80 to annual screening, biennial screening or a control group, using rehydrated Haemoccult slides. At thirteen years cumulative colorectal cancer mortality per 1,000 was 5.88 with annual screening (95% CI 4.61 to 7.15), 8.33 with biennial screening (6.82 to 9.84) and 8.83 in controls (7.26 to 10.40); only the annual group was significantly better, a 33 percent reduction. The benefit came with a shift to earlier stage at diagnosis and better survival among those who developed cancer. Rehydration made the test far more sensitive and far less specific, so 38 percent of the annual group ended up having a colonoscopy, which is part of why later programmes moved to the faecal immunochemical test.
Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.
46,551 randomised.
| Endpoint | Arm | n | Value | HR (95% CI) | p | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative colorectal cancer mortality at 13 yearsprimary | Annual screening | - | 5.88 deaths per 1,000 | - | - | link |
| Biennial screening | - | 8.33 deaths per 1,000 | ||||
| Control | - | 8.83 deaths per 1,000 |
Shares NordICC (Nordic-European Initiative on Colorectal Cancer), Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares NordICC (Nordic-European Initiative on Colorectal Cancer), Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.
Shares Faecal immunochemical test (FIT), Colorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood), Colorectal cancer.