Flexible sigmoidoscopy screening for colorectal cancer
Menée à partir des données de trois essais incluant au total 287 928 participants (durée médiane de suivi : 10,5 à 12,1 ans), cette étude évalue, du point de vue du taux d'adhésion au dépistage colorectal ainsi que de la réduction de l'incidence de la maladie et de la mortalité spécifique, l'efficacité de la sigmoïdoscopie flexible en fonction du sexe et de catégories d'âge (inférieur à 60 ans, 60 ans ou plus)
Different outcomes in men and women are a challenge for decision makersAn increasing number of countries have implemented or are about to implement programmes for colorectal cancer screening. Unlike existing screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer, colorectal cancer screening affects both men and women. This trivial and obvious fact entails several questions that are far from trivial—eg, are the established tools for colorectal cancer screening equally effective among men and women? To adequately address this issue, subgroup analyses by sex of randomised screening trials with long term follow-up are needed. However, single trials often do not have a sufficient sample size to allow for meaningful subgroup analyses. Pooling of trials is then the only way to answer these questions. Following this rationale, Holme and colleagues1 initiated a joint analysis of three large scale randomised trials on flexible sigmoidoscopy screening conducted in Italy,2 Norway,3 and the United States,4 and they present the findings in The …
BMJ , éditorial, 2016