Not enough Americans are being screened for colorectal cancer, according to a new report in a journal published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Only about half of U.S. men and women undergo colorectal cancer screening, according to the paper, published in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. In the study, epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied colorectal cancer screening rates in 2005 and compared them to rates in 2000 in a population of almost 30,873 Americans.
They found that the 50% screening rate in the most recent year was an improvement over the 43% rate five years earlier. The increase may be attributable to increased media coverage of colorectal cancer screening, such as when NBC "Today" anchor Katie Couric underwent a colonoscopy.
But today's screening levels are still far from optimal, and lack of insurance coverage appears to be a major barrier, according to lead researcher Jean Shapiro, Ph.D. In fact, the increase in screening also appears related to Medicare's decision in 2001 to expand colorectal screening coverage to a wider range of patients. Only 24% of people without health insurance underwent screening, the researchers stated.
Other factors that increased the likelihood of a patient undergoing screening included higher education levels, higher household income, and increased frequency of physician contact.
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