New research published in Cancer shows sending colorectal cancer screening kits in the mail increases the number of screenings, paving the way to improving screening on a larger scale.
Researchers from the Charlotte, N.C.-based Mecklenburg County Health Department and the University of North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill examined 2,100 people insured by Medicaid who were behind on getting screened for colorectal cancer.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. There was a 9 percent increase in those who needed colorectal cancer screening.
2. The study participants were mailed reminders about colorectal cancer screenings, as well as instructions on how to arrange one with the health department. They also received a fecal immunochemical test, or FIT kits, which detects blood in the stool.
3. Out of the 2,144 people examined, 18 individuals who had completed the cancer screening tests had abnormal results, and 15 were eligible for a follow-up colonoscopy. Of the 10 who had the colonoscopy, one had an abnormal result.
4. “There has been a national push to increase colorectal cancer screening rates since colorectal cancer is a preventable disease, but screening rates are only about 63 percent, and low-income, and otherwise vulnerable populations, tend to be screened at even lower rates," said study author Alison Brenner, PhD, in a statement.