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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Review of the evidence for a colorectal cancer screening programme in elderly people | | Author(s) | Catherine Quarini, Margot Gosney |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 38, no 5, September 2009 |
| Pages | pp 503-508 |
| Source | http://www.ageing.oxfordjournals.org |
| Keywords | Cancer ; Screening ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | Colorectal cancer is a major public health issue, contributing to 16,000 UK deaths per year, most of these in the older population. A new NHS screening programme for colorectal cancer in people over 60 is being introduced across the country throughout 2009. The aim of this research was to review the current literature on colorectal cancer screening and determine how much of the evidence for screening is applicable to older people. MEDLINE database was searched for articles published between 1990 and 2007, using search terms of colorectal neoplasms, mass-screening, faecal occult blood, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy. Articles for inclusion were limited to those in English and those including older adults. The results showed that evidence for colorectal cancer screening in general has been well researched. However, little was found specifically on screening for older people, or looking at the different benefits and limitations in older people compared to younger people. Very few health agencies suggested an upper age limit for screening. There is very little research on screening for colorectal cancer specifically in older people, although many health authorities advise such screening. The health needs of an older population are different to those of middle-aged people, and at present the screening programmes do not appear to reflect this. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-091207202 A |
| Classmark | CK: 3V: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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