Early detection—The priority in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer represents an increasingly important health care problem in the United States, as well as in other developed countries of the world. Although great progress has been made to decrease the mortality from other types of cancer, no significant alteration has occurred in mortality rates for colorectal cancer in the past 50 years. This is because no widespread screening modalities have been implemented and most patients present to their practitioners when symptoms occur, thus reducing the 5-year survival rate to around 44%. This is tragic, indeed, as the 5-year survival rate is approximately 75% when colorectal cancer is diagnosed and treated in its asymptomatic stage. This paper, which reflects an international review of the literature and the authorsʼ experience, discusses the etiology of colorectal cancer, as well as individuals at increased risk for the development of the disease, and systematically examines screening for fecal occult blood. Nurses can exert a major role in altering the statistics of colorectal cancer by assisting in the development and implementation of effective programs for its early detection and prompt treatment.