Skip Navigation
Menu
Letters |2 August 2005

Office-Based Testing for Fecal Occult Blood

Christian Jackson, MD; Robert Craig, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • From Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611.

    Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest: None disclosed.

×
FULL TEXT
TO THE EDITOR:
We read with interest the article by Collins and colleagues (1) and the accompanying editorial by Dr. Sox (2). We share Dr. Sox's concern that colorectal cancer mortality rates have not decreased more rapidly, considering the emphasis on increased screening over the past 10 years. We think this is multifactorial, and we would like to respond to these observations before the office-based FOBT is abandoned.
One reason for the slow decline might be the replacement of flexible sigmoidoscopy with total colonoscopy for people at low risk for colorectal cancer. With the exception of the Veterans Administration health system, this practice has produced a chasm between those who can afford total colonoscopy or insist on it versus those who cannot. A paucity of any screening intervention in the African-American and Hispanic populations is troubling because available data show that colon cancer is diagnosed more frequently in African-American and Hispanic persons than in white persons (3, 4).
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Jackson C, Craig R. Office-Based Testing for Fecal Occult Blood. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:235–236. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-143-3-200508020-00016

Download citation file:

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 2005;143(3):235-236.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-143-3-200508020-00016

©
2005 American College of Physicians
0 Citations
CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×