New Study Shows Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Increasing Among U.S. Adults

The percentage of U.S. adults aged 50 years and older getting screened for colorectal cancer is increasing according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study uses state-level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) data that have been combined to estimate that 60.8 percent of adults were current with colorectal cancer screening recommendations in 2006, compared with 53.9 percent in 2002.

“While we are encouraged to see an increase in colorectal cancer screening rates, certain groups are still not getting screened as recommended,” said Djenaba A. Joseph, M.D., the report’s lead author and medical officer, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. “We need to ensure that all adults have access to these life-saving tests because there is strong scientific evidence that screening can prevent colorectal cancer deaths.”

+ Use of Colorectal Cancer Tests — United States, 2002, 2004, and 2006

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 10:46 am and is filed under Diseases and conditions, Health and healthcare. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.