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Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
Division of Cancer
Prevention and Control
4770 Buford Hwy, NE
MS K-64
Atlanta, GA 30341-3717
Call: 1 (800) CDC-INFO
TTY: 1 (888) 232-6348
FAX: (770) 488-4760
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Submit a Question Online
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Screening Rates
Prevention and Early Detection: Keys to Reducing Deaths
Reducing the number of deaths from colorectal cancer depends on detecting and removing precancerous colorectal polyps, as well as detecting and treating the cancer in its early stages.
- Colorectal cancer can be prevented by removing precancerous polyps or abnormal growths, which can be present in the colon for years before invasive cancer develops.
- When colorectal cancer is found early and treated, the 5-year relative survival rate is 90 percent. Because screening rates are low, less than 40 percent of colorectal cancers are found early.
- One U.S. clinical trial reported a 33 percent reduction in colorectal cancer deaths and a 20 percent reduction in colorectal cancer incidence among people offered an annual FOBT.
Percentage* of adults aged ≥50 years who reported receiving a fecal occult blood test
within past year and/or lower endoscopy† within past 10 years, by state—Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System (BRFSS), United States, 2006‡
There are no states with percentages in the first interval (less than 50.0%) in 2006. The states with
percentages in the second interval (50.1 to 60.0%) include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee,
West Virginia, and Wyoming. The states with percentages in the third interval (60.1 to 70.0%) include
Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont,
Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. The states with percentages in the fourth interval (greater
than or equal to 70.1%) include Connecticut and Rhode Island.*Age-standardized to
the 2006 BRFSS population age ≥ 50.
† Lower endoscopy refers to flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.
‡ Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2007.
Percentage* of adults aged ≥50 years who reported receiving a fecal occult blood test within
past year and/or lower endoscopy† within past 10 years, by state—Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS), United States, 2004‡
There are no data for Hawaii in 2004. The states with percentages in the first interval (less than 50.0%) include Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The states with percentages in the second interval (50.1 to 60.0%) include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The states with percentages in the third interval (60.1 to 70.0%) include Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. There are no states with percentages in the fourth interval (greater than
or equal to 70.1%) in 2004.
*Age-standardized to the 2006 BRFSS population age ≥ 50.
† Lower endoscopy refers to flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.
‡ Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2005.
Underuse of Screening
- Colorectal cancer screening remains underused, despite the availability of effective screening tests.
- Screening for colorectal cancer lags far behind screening for breast and cervical cancers.
- Findings from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which is administered by CDC, indicate that in 2000, only 42.5 percent of U.S. adults age 50 or older had undergone a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the previous 10 years or had used a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) home test kit within the preceding year.
- Screening for colorectal cancer was particularly low among those respondents who lacked health insurance, those with no usual source of healthcare, and those who reported no doctor's visits within the preceding year.
- As many as 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented if everyone age 50 and older were screened regularly.
For more information, visit Screening and Risk Factors Report: Had a Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy in Past 5 Years, 2006, All Races, Both Sexes, Ages 50+ and Screening and Risk Factors Report: Used Home Blood Stool Test in Past Year, 2006, All Races, Both Sexes, Ages 50+.
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