DDW 2020: One-Stop Multicancer Screening Center Program
Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Given the high rates of prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers globally, Joseph Sung, MD, PhD, of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues investigated the efficacy of a one-stop multicancer screening program for asymptomatic individuals. According to their findings, presented as part of the 2020 virtual Digestive Disease Week (DDW; Abstract Su2013), individuals who volunteered to undergo colorectal cancer screening seemed likely to accept other cancer screenings, including for prostate cancer or breast cancer, when it was offered as a one-stop program. The researchers also found that overweight subjects appeared to have a higher risk for adenomas and prostate cancer than nonoverweight subjects.
More than 2,500 asymptomatic subjects between the ages of 50 and 75 were recruited for the one-stop screening service for prostate, colorectal, and breast cancers. All testing was free of charge to voluntary subjects. The research team also compared the outcomes of overweight and nonoverweight individuals. Overweight was defined as a body mass index of at least 25 kg/m2.
Overall, almost all subjects were willing to screen for a second cancer. Only three males (0.3%) and a single female (0.07%) refused to screen for prostate or breast cancer, respectively, after a positive colorectal cancer screening. Of the 297 patients who tested positive for colorectal cancer, 276 underwent a colonoscopy, and advanced adenoma was found in 109 of them (39.49%).
Of note, the first-line screening did not reveal any significant differences in positive results for prostate, colorectal, or breast cancer between overweight and nonoverweight subjects. However, the colonoscopy results showed a significantly higher adenoma detection rate for the overweight group than for the nonoverweight group (78.3% vs. 65.2%; P = .016). Similarly, the prostate biopsies showed a higher prostate cancer detection rate among overweight subjects than nonoverweight subjects (43.6% vs. 20.9%; P = .028).
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
