Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of the study was to assess the awareness of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients about CRC screening methods and to investigate the relationship between awareness, socio-demographic characteristics and the stage in which patients with CRC are diagnosed.MethodsThe observational cross-sectional study included 275 CRC patients admitted between 2014 and 2016 to two surgical clinics from Tîrgu Mureş, Romania. Study variables were collected via face-to-face interview and from patients’ observation sheets.ResultsOnly 41.5% of the patients heard about cancer screening and 6.5% about specific CRC screening methods. Mass-media was the major source of information (85.1%) followed to a much lesser extent (14.9%) by family, friends, and colleagues. Health professionals did not contribute at all to informing patients about screening methods. Awareness about screening methods was statistically associated with the patients’ residence, age, and educational achievement, but not with the stage of CRC.ConclusionThe level of awareness of CRC screening methods was very low among the CRC patients included in the study but it could not predict the stage in which malignancy was diagnosed, suggesting that awareness alone is not enough to bring patients to undergo early CDC screening procedures.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major public health problem and is responsible for about 8% of all death cases caused by cancer [1]
Only 41.5% of the patients heard about cancer screening and 6.5% about specific colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods
The level of awareness of CRC screening methods was very low among the CRC patients included in the study but it could not predict the stage in which malignancy was diagnosed, suggesting that awareness
Summary
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major public health problem and is responsible for about 8% of all death cases caused by cancer [1]. There are approximately 1.36 million new cases diagnosed annually, and approximately 694,000 people die due to colorectal cancer [2]. In the US, it is estimated that about 6% of the population will develop this type of neoplasm and half of these people will die due to this disease [5]. It is estimated that incidence rates could increase dramatically over the decade, most of which will be in developing countries [7]. CRC incidence has increased dramatically in the last decades in former communist countries in Eastern Europe that have recently undergone a major economic transition [4]. The aim of the study was to assess the awareness of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients about CRC screening methods and to investigate the relationship between awareness, socio-demographic characteristics and the stage in which patients with CRC are diagnosed
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