Colorectal cancer screening in Tuzla canton: Project and strategy for patients with average cancer risk

Abstract

Background: Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) can identify premalignant lesions and detect asymptomatic malignant tumors at an early stage that have a better chance of healing, but also longer-term better treatment outcomes. Screening has been shown to reduce mortality from CRC. The aim of this paper is comprehensive education of health care professionals in the Tuzla Canton about this disease, adoption of new guidelines and simpler route from diagnosis to surgical treatment,which ultimately leads to reduced mortality and better outcomes in treatment. Material and methods:The project included family medicine specialists, surgeons and gastroenterologists, 100 of them. The education project was led by two surgeons, who implemented the guidelines ofthe American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2021, when it comes to screening CRC. Results: None of the participants offered all correct answers in tests, prior to the training, in both groups of doctors. For a post-educational test, data suggest that there has been a noticeable improvement in the results. In a group of doctors with over 10 years of service, 71 (98.61%) answered correctly all the questions offered and only 1 (1.39%) between 5 and 9 correct answers. For a group of doctors with less than 10 years of service, 26 (92.86%) provided all correct answers and only 2 (7, 14%) between 5 and 9 correct answers.Conclusion: This project pointed to the necessary education of healthcare professionals in this area, who are involved in early detection programmes for CRC, especially family medicine specialists, surgeons and gastroenterologists.