AsianScientist (Sep. 27, 2011) – With 4,000 new cases each year, bowel cancer is the number two cancer killer in Hong Kong.
However, early detection using methods such as fecal occult blood tests and colonoscopy can effectively prevent bowel cancer, says the CUHK Jockey Club Bowel Cancer Education Center.
From May 2008 to July 2011, the Center offered free bowel cancer screening to a total of 7,914 subjects aged between 50 to 70 years.
Of the 3,343 participants who had undergone colonoscopy, 985 participants (29.5 percent) were diagnosed as having adenoma or advanced neoplasm which can develop into cancer; 12 participants (0.4 percent) had bowel cancer; and one participant was diagnosed with metastatic stage IV cancer and died afterward.
Among 4,571 people who received fecal occult blood tests, the annual compliance rates at year one, two, and three were 97%, 84%, and 75%, respectively.
“These screening compliance rates are much higher than those in most Western countries,” said Professor Joseph Jao-Yiu Sung, Founding Director and Honorary Consultant of the Center.
Approximately 35,000 Hong Kong citizens have enrolled in the program since its commencement.
“During the period, there were only three subjects who developed severe complications after colonoscopy; all of them recovered well afterwards. This reflected that bowel cancer screening is a safe procedure with low complication rate,” said Professor Francis KL Chan, Honorary Director of the Center.
Professor Chan also suggested that fecal test is a more convenient option of screening versus a colonoscopy, and gave accurate results and high compliance among screening participants.
To help reduce bowel cancer-related deaths, the Center also recommended that the Hong Kong Government implement a territory-wide bowel cancer screening program, and organize more health education initiatives on bowel cancer.
The Center plans to recruit an additional 2,000 eligible subjects who are between 50- and 70-years-old for bowel cancer screening. Participants can register for the cancer screening program at its website or via a 24-hour automated telephone system (3151-5666) from September 27 to October 3, 2011.
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Source: CUHK Jockey Club Bowel Cancer Education Center.
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