Colorectal cancer screening with faecal occult blood testing: Community intention, knowledge, beliefs and behaviour

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most frequent malignancy in both sexes worldwide and the second most frequent in industrialised countries. In Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, the age-standardised incidence of CRC is 31-47 per 100,000 in men and 22-33 per 100,000 in women. Approximately 50% of patients affected will die from this disease 1-3. Early detection is critical in preventing CRC deaths as treatment success is reliant upon the disease being diagnosed at a localised stage. Randomised controlled trials showed that screening by the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) can reduce the death rate from this disease by 15-33 percent. Cost effectiveness analysis indicated that screening for CRC is comparable in cost to breast cancer screening.