Mohd Suan Mohd Azri, Mohammed Noor Syahireen, Abu Hassan Muhammad Radzi
Clinical Research Center, Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia E-mail :
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(18):8345-9. doi: 10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.18.8345.
Although the incidence of colorectal cancer in Malaysia is increasing, awareness of this cancer, including its symptoms, risk factors and screening methods, remains low among Malaysian populations. This survey was conducted with the aim of (i) ascertaining the awareness level regarding colorectal cancer symptoms, risk factors and its screening among the general populations and (ii) assessing the public preference and willingness to pay for colorectal cancer screening.
The questionnaire was distributed in eight major cities in West Malaysia during the World Health Digestive Day (WDHD) campaign. Two thousand four hundred and eight respondents participated in this survey.
Generally, awareness of colorectal cancer was found to be relatively good. Symptoms such as change in bowel habit, blood in the stool, weight loss and abdominal pain were well recognized by 86.6%, 86.9%, 83.4% and 85.6% of the respondents, respectively. However, common risk factors such as positive family history, obesity and old age were acknowledged only by less than 70% of the respondents. Almost 80% of the respondents are willing to take the screening test even without any apparent symptoms. Colonoscopy is the preferred screening method, but only 37.5% were willing to pay from their own pocket to get early colonoscopy.
Continous cancer education should be promoted with more involvement from healthcare providers in order to make future colorectal cancer screening programs successful.
尽管马来西亚结直肠癌的发病率在上升，但马来西亚民众对这种癌症的认识，包括其症状、风险因素和筛查方法，仍然很低。本次调查旨在（i）确定普通民众对结直肠癌症状、风险因素及其筛查的认识水平，以及（ii）评估公众对结直肠癌筛查的偏好和支付意愿。
在世界卫生消化日（WDHD）活动期间，问卷在马来西亚西部的八个主要城市发放。2408名受访者参与了本次调查。
总体而言，发现民众对结直肠癌的认识相对较好。分别有86.6%、86.9%、83.4%和85.6%的受访者清楚认识到诸如排便习惯改变、便血、体重减轻和腹痛等症状。然而，只有不到70%的受访者认识到诸如家族史阳性、肥胖和老年等常见风险因素。几乎80%的受访者即使没有任何明显症状也愿意接受筛查测试。结肠镜检查是首选的筛查方法，但只有37.5%的人愿意自掏腰包进行早期结肠镜检查。
应促进持续的癌症教育，医疗服务提供者应更多地参与其中，以使未来的结直肠癌筛查项目取得成功。
