First six years of implementing colorectal cancer screening in the Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia--can we do better?

The primary goal of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program in the Osijek-Baranja County. The screening method for early detection of colorectal cancer was the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Test (gFOBT) and colonoscopy for gFOBT positive finding. The target population were asymptomatic subjects at average risk, aged 50-74. The responding rate was 20.3% (14.9% of men and 19.3% of women). The percentage of gFOBT positive tests was 8.5% (11.2% of men and 6.6% of women). From the 1,657 individuals who were invited to further assessment (884 men and 773 women), 1,157 underwent a colonoscopy exam (649 men and 508 women). We can conclude that the response to FOBT in our county was extremely poor. 83 carcinomas were found, with almost double findings among men than among women. Our population has a significantly higher number of men with malignant and premalignant changes when compared with women. Considering the higher incidence among men, as well as an increase in incidence in the entire population, we have to take care that our public health programmes are being created with this taken into account, as to increase the response rate, especially among those with a higher risk of developing a disease.