Brändle Karen, Bulliard Jean-Luc
Département épidémiologie et systèmes de santé, Centre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique (Unisanté), 1010 Lausanne.
Rev Med Suisse. 2022 Nov 9;18(803):2108-2111. doi: 10.53738/REVMED.2022.18.803.2108.
The Vaud colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program, pioneer in Switzerland, offers since 2015 the choice between a biennial fecal immunological test (FIT) and a colonoscopy every 10 years to those aged 50 to 69. This first epidemiological evaluation of a Swiss CRC screening program shows an increasing uptake over the years and an equal distribution of choice of tests, but with regional differences. Quality of both FIT and colonoscopy fulfil the European norms. The high proportion of early-stage cancers (60% stage I) met expectations. The large increase in screening tests and limited colonoscopy capacity is leading to interprofessional discussions on strategies for prioritizing FIT, accompanied by additional orientation tools within the program and public sensitization, and for reducing the time taken to perform FIT positive colonoscopies.
