Status
Ongoing
At the request of the Flemish working group on Bevolkingsonderzoek Dikkedarmkanker (Population Screening for Colorectal Cancer), the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) is investigating the recent evolution in time of the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC), carcinomas and adenomas in situ, in 45- to 49-year-olds in Flanders, along with the associated diagnostic procedures.
An increase in the incidence of CRC in people under the age of 50 has been observed in recent years in the United States, a trend that has also been observed in a number of countries in Europe and in Australia. As a result, there are calls to extend screening for CRC to younger age groups.
For this project, annual age-specific incidence rates (crude incidence rates) per 100,000 person-years are calculated for the Flemish population aged 45–49 years based on all available BCR data. This means the 2001–2019 data for invasive and non-invasive CRC and 2013–2019 data for colorectal adenomas with low-grade dysplasia. To describe the (reimbursed) diagnostic procedures that presumably led to the detection of colorectal lesions, we use data obtained from the Agence InterMutualiste (AIM) (the agency responsible for collating data from Belgium’s seven health insurance funds). These are the 2006–2019 data for the number of complete colonoscopies and the 2010–2019 data for the number of Faecal Immunochemical Tests (FITs), also known as opportunistic screening.
All analyses are performed according to sex. Time trends in incidence rates are analysed with joinpoint regression and presented as the Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) – the average relative annual change – over the entire period studied. If the analysis shows significant changes in the time trend, the Estimated Annual Percent Change (EAPC) – the average relative annual change during that part of the total period – is also calculated for each segment separately.
The results of this project will be compiled in a research report and presented to the Flemish working group on Bevolkingsonderzoek Dikkedarmkanker (Population Screening for Colorectal Cancer). Thereafter, the results will be published in a scientific journal.
An increase in the incidence of CRC in people under the age of 50 has been observed in recent years in the United States, a trend that has also been observed in a number of countries in Europe and in Australia. As a result, there are calls to extend screening for CRC to younger age groups.
For this project, annual age-specific incidence rates (crude incidence rates) per 100,000 person-years are calculated for the Flemish population aged 45–49 years based on all available BCR data. This means the 2001–2019 data for invasive and non-invasive CRC and 2013–2019 data for colorectal adenomas with low-grade dysplasia. To describe the (reimbursed) diagnostic procedures that presumably led to the detection of colorectal lesions, we use data obtained from the Agence InterMutualiste (AIM) (the agency responsible for collating data from Belgium’s seven health insurance funds). These are the 2006–2019 data for the number of complete colonoscopies and the 2010–2019 data for the number of Faecal Immunochemical Tests (FITs), also known as opportunistic screening.
All analyses are performed according to sex. Time trends in incidence rates are analysed with joinpoint regression and presented as the Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) – the average relative annual change – over the entire period studied. If the analysis shows significant changes in the time trend, the Estimated Annual Percent Change (EAPC) – the average relative annual change during that part of the total period – is also calculated for each segment separately.
The results of this project will be compiled in a research report and presented to the Flemish working group on Bevolkingsonderzoek Dikkedarmkanker (Population Screening for Colorectal Cancer). Thereafter, the results will be published in a scientific journal.
Cancer screening